| FEATURE RACE COMMENT |
YEAR: 2001
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| Kym's Girl |
The day before winning the Canterbury Draught NZ Cup, Colin De Filippi made a comment in the media that he would not be afraid to lead in the race with Kym's Girl.
"It wouldn't worry me if I lead throughout," he said.
This was a surprising declaration about a mare whose trademark has been a late and lethal sprint - one that won her the Hannon Memorial at Oamaru three starts ago, the same one that took her into the money at long odds behind Yulestar and Bogan Fella in last year's Cup. But through a conspiracy of events during the running, Kym's Girl didn't get to see the front until it counted - at the finish. And she was there first - the glory girl bred on the wrong side of the sticks. A daughter of Man Around Town, a siring "cheapie" who has done a wonderful job since making his mark with the Grand Circuit performer, Kiwi John.
It was also a major triumph for Colin and Julie De Filippi, a couple who stoically overcame a tragic treble of family setbacks that included the death of their son Darren and illnesses that affected Colin and their daughter, Mandy. Their middle name may well be modesty, for they have always taken success without fuss or fanfare.
Colin has seen many great drivers go through their careers without driving a NZ Cup winner, and after numerous placings from 18 drives he might even have put himself in amongst them. "I've run three seconds - two with Our Mana and one with Dillon Dean - and a couple of thirds and I think two fourths in the race. I've never driven a favourite, and when I look back I don't think I could have done my drives any better. With Dillon Dean, I thought I'd driven the perfect race, and I'm tipped out by Inky Lord. But when I looked back to see what he had done, he deserved it," he said.
This time, De Filippi had given some thought to leading, but this idea went straight to the cellar when Kym's Girl settled off the pace set by Atitagain but still nicely in the race. "I wasn't happy with a round to go, and I thought this isn't going to plan."
At this stage of the race, Atitagain was still in front. Flight South was still sitting sweetly in the trail, but their were some big moves from the back. Holmes D G, who had been slow and lost 20 metres, was up there, so was Yulestar and Makati Gallahad who had been busy on the front end throughout.
Where was Kym's Girl while all this activity was going on? Well back, in fact in the last four at the 1000m, and tracking a battler up in Cigar. "I wasn't happy, but we got to the quarter and I thought we'd get a bit of it,"said De Filippi. It was more than a bit as Kym's Girl closed on Holmes D G. She tugged the Addington heartstrings as she swept alongside. Pedigree was out for the count as she bombed the big horse and went to the line for a gracious and popular win. The old hands came in next. Homin Hosed, who struggled to regain his form after an injury following his win in the race two years ago, looked sharp as he fought on for second, followed by last year's winner Yulestar whose luck was out after moving up at the 2000m, and Holmes D G.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in the HR Weekly
YEAR: 2000
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A tactical decision by Colin De Filippi to outsprint Hawera rather than outstay her was the turning point in the win by Kym's Girl in the NZ Premier Mares Championship.
A renowned fast-finisher coming off the back of horses, Kym's Girl was up for a stayer's run - which she had managed so well on the track a fortnight earlier. Given the chance of a breather on Hawera's back briefly in the straight, instead of sustaining a hard push wider out, De Filippi took it. Gambling on Kym's Girl still being sharp enough to deliver her sting from cover, De Filippi brought her out at the 100m. The operation was skilfull, the timing was precision-perfect, and Kym's Girl cut it fine but made it by a nose.
Owners Dave Miller, Graham Trist and Bill Marra were again lavish in their credits for the driver. "Colin has been a huge help in getting Kym's Girl to where she is. He has driven her in 11 of her 12 wins and in most of her other races, but when things haven't gone her way he has never knocked her around. She has always been able to come back and pick her form up again," said Trist.
Miller is a pig farmer and small-time trainer, though he is keen to be out of the pigs and more into training. Besides Kym's Girl and C1 pacer Afella's Joy, he is working a sister to Afella's Joy, and 2-year-olds by Motu Mister Smooth and Man Araound Town. "Dave deserves as much credit," said Trist. "He gives her a slow build-up over the winter and has her at peak for Cup Day," he said.
By their own admission, the partners operate at the lower end of the market, and Miller won his first two races with Cosby, a son of Lord Module. He has no stock by the high-flying sires in his stable, and he has a share in four foals this season by the sire of Kym's Girl, Man Around Town. The partners are on good terms with studmaster and historian Jim Dalgety, who predicted when the mare was C4 she would make Cup class. He also beat the drum for Man Around Town, sending a number of mares to him this season including Happy Hazel, 1:57.6, the Vance Hanover mare, Vancellini Queen, and Koau Dream (Knowing Bret-Daisy Charles).
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 15Mar00
YEAR: 2001
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| Colin & Julie De Filippi celebrate |
YEAR: 2000
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| Kym's Girl wins from Under Cover Lover |
Last Friday's feature at Addington once again belonged to Kym's Girl and her driver Colin De Filippi. The dynamic duo continuously make the headlines with their well-timed finishes, but Friday's sizzling late burst to nab runaway leader Under Cover Lover in the $75,000 Canterbury Draught NZ Standardbred Breeders Stakes could not have been scripted better in the movies.
Settling three wide on the outer, Kym's Girl sat there until the home turn when she was asked to move - and even that was a lot earlier than De Filippi wanted. "I had to get around Joan's Gift, and I was a bit worried about Hawera on our backs but she didn't stick with us," De Filippi said. "Under Cover Lover had a few lengths on us with 100m to go, and I wasn't overly confident about picking her up because she is a very good mare. But when I saw Anthony (Butt) look round I thought we had a show."
Trained by David Miller at Motukarara, Kym's Girl has now won 13 from 42, for stakes of just under $150,000. She will be kept for the Easter Cup, then go out for a spell as her connections look towards November's NZ Cup. She is by the Towner's Big Guy stallion Man Around Town, who really has made the most of limited opportunities at stud here. Man Around Town has left two winners from his first crop of only seven foals (now 6-year-olds), including Kiwi John (Aus 1:57.3, $200,000); Kym's Girl (13 wins) and All Around (7) are two of four winners from a second crop of nine foals (5yos); one of Man Around Town's three 4-year-olds is a winner, and he has only for 3-year-olds on the ground. Since 1992/93 Man Around Town has served books of 15, 14, 11, 12, 25, 24, 45 and 52 this season.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly22Mar00
YEAR: 2001
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Colin De Filippi had been thinking about it all week. Thinking about how he was going to turn the tables on Flight South. After all, he and his wife Julie had lined Kym's Girl up in the NZ Premier Mares Championship knowing she was at the top of her game; they didn't expect to win, but they did not expect her to get beaten the way she did either. Fully respecting that Kym's Girl only deserved second prize that night, De Filippi wanted a different result in the Caduceus Club of Canterbury NZ Standardbred Breeders Stakes.
The first part of the plan fell into place when Kym's Girl drew two and Flight South five, but he kept quiet about how he was going to play it on the night and even those closest to him did not know. In the end, history will show it to be just another classic 'CJ' drive. Flash Tactics and Ricky May speared away from their 'ace' draw so quickly that it gave De Filippi and Kym's Girl all three options...Take a trail, sit parked and wait for cover, or push forward. When nothing came around De Filippi opted for the latter, probably smiling that he had not needed to use too much petrol getting there. From in front the race was theirs for the controlling, and when De Filippi took a sneaky peek around with 800 metres to run he could see he had Flight South right where he wanted her - last. A furlong later Flight South was inching forward ominously with cover like she had done the previous week, but De Filippi still had a handful of his own mare and wasn't going to be outsprinted this time. He asked Kym's Girl to go rounding the home bend and they stole the show; last half in 56.6, quarter in 27.4, I'll take this one thanks. "The race was always going to come down to a battle of tactics, especially when it dropped down to a nine horse field," De Filippi said afterwards.
It was Bill Denton, the stable's most respected employee, that planted the seed in his son-in-law's mind about taking Kym's Girl to the front, because he had driven the mare that way in lead-up work and said she had felt good being there. "She had been tried that way in races before without much success, but she is stronger this season and we have been trying to teach her to find the line," De Filippi said.
Apart from co-training the fourth mare in history to win back-to-back Breeders Stakes, joining Lento (1995,1996), Blossom Lady (1991,1992,1993)and Bonnie's Chance (1982,1983,1984), De Filippi also had the satisfaction of proving a point about his mare's ability after finishing second the previous week. "I heard someone say this year's Breeders Stakes field was weaker than past years, but when you have got an Auckland Cup winner, a Hannon Memorial winner and a previous winner of the event it can't be all that weak. Kym's Girl would definitely rate up with the best mares I have driven; horses like Idolmite, Quiet Touch and Adio Routine," he said.
Kym's Girl was entrusted to the De Filippi stable by her owners David Miller, Bill Marra and Graeme Trist. She developed unsoundness in a hoof following her game run for third in last years' NZ Cup, and it was thought that having access to a pool would help her training and she has responded well to it. Kym's Girl will start once more before the Easter Cup, after which she will have a spell and be aimed again at the NZ Cup.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 21Mar01
YEAR: 2001
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| Flight South outfinishes Kym's Girl and Flash Tactics |
It is hard to recall the last time Kym's Girl was caught from behind. She was on one of her trademark blistering runs when she was overtaken surprisingly by Flight South with 100 metres to run.
Surprisingly, too, because it was no contest. Flight South went by in a few thumping strides, winning the $25,000 Pyne Gould Guinness NZ Premier Mares Championship by an increasing margin in a fast 2:21 for the mobile 1950m, which was a 1:56.3 mile rate. This was 0.7 seconds faster than Adio Routine's NZ mares' record, or would have been had there not been a cruel collapse of the electronic timing system; so no record because the timing was a human clocking and thus unofficial.
That bad or sad business aside, Flight South was awesome and it bodes well for further success in the Caduceus Club-sponsored Standardbred Breeders' Stakes on Thursday night. There should be some confidence about this because astute trainer Andrew Neal thinks there is a handsome improvement to come and she will be close to unbeatable of he is even half right.
Neal says Flight South "proved a point" by her win. The point he had in mind was removing the general suspicion that her Auckland Cup upset win as a C7 from off the ballot was the result of a rare failure on the part of others. Neal has never thought of it that way, always maintaining that she had competed against the same horses with credibility. In two starts since her Auckland Cup win, Flight South was out of the money, and Neal blames himself for one of the two, and knows they may have given volume to those still in doubt of her class. "They were both non events. One was a free-for-all at Alexandra Park where they walked and sprinted home, and the other was a bad drive by me at Cambridge. I put too much thought into it and made a tactical error," he said.
In the latest confirmation of her class, Flight South raced with a nasal strip, as she did for the first time in the Auckland Cup. It keeps the nostrils open, and helps their recovery after a race," he said. Flight South has the Inter-Dominions in Brisbane to follow the Breeders' Stakes, and Neal is serious about her chances. "I got 100 to 1 before her race tonight. I don't think she will be at anything like that now,"he said.
Neal says Pacific South, the dam of Flight South, is in foal to the In The Pocket horse, Tinted Cloud, and he took one of the few opportunities left to stock up on the Direct Flights by spending $4800 on a colt by the deceased horse from Joyella at the Yearling Sales in Christchurch last week. In the meantime, Flight South is at Motukarara where she is enjoying working on the grass track.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 14Mar01