By Jonny Turner
Tom Kilkelly hasn’t lost any of his enthusiasm for harness racing after putting 200 wins on the board as an owner.
The Invercargill breeder-owner, former trainer and longtime industry sponsor (pictured above, second from right) reached the milestone in grand style when his promising trotter Fiery Bandito ran to a big win in the Airpark Canterbury Trot at Addington on Friday night.
The victory continued an incredible ride for Kilkelly whose interest in the sport goes back to his teenage years, before he first started racing horses in Southland in the 1980s.
When looking back, the passionate harness racing supporter feels it’s important to focus on the great thrills he has enjoyed in the sport.
“You have to try and focus on the positives with them, you can have a few disappointments along the way but when you look back on it all you think of all the positives.”
Kilkelly takes the same approach when thinking back on the career of one of his best horses in U May Cullect.
The brilliant but injury-plagued pacer caught the imagination of harness racing fans with a string of brilliant victories to begin his short career.
“We bought him for $5000 and the best thing was Southland got behind him.”
“You look back and you think about what could have been but you have to think of the positives and the amazing amount of fun we had with him.”
Kilkelly counts his 200 wins as horses that have passed through his property, which these days is operated by Kirstin Green.
The tally is made up mostly of horses Kilkelly has bred and owned, with many raced with his wife Julie and other family members.
After tasting more success than some owners dream of, the southern stalwart hasn’t lost any passion for the industry.
“We have made the decision to breed from seven broodmares this season.”
“It is hard not to be positive with what is happening in the game at the moment.”
Kilkelly rates the recently retired Smokin Bandar as another of his best horses.
The trotter succumbed to injury almost a year after running second in the Group 1 Renwick Farms Dominion Trot at Addington.
But only a matter of days after he bowed out, his not-so-little half-brother The Fiery Bandito put his hand up to be a Dominion threat.
“I don’t think that run will get him to the Dominion, but he is going to stay up in Christchurch for a couple of weeks and he will get his chance to qualify.”
Just a day prior to Fiery Bandito’s big win another sibling in Burning Love won easily at Gore, continuing the outstanding record of Kilkelly’s broodmare The Fiery Filly.
Though there are dozens of other winners to look back on, one of Kilkellly’s horses that southern harness racing fans may remember fondly is Guns N Roses.
The pacer was brilliant at his best though punters never knew what sort of frame of mind the horse would turn up in.
“He was a fantastic horse, I remember Dave McDonald would say ‘Here comes Guns N Roses’.”
“Some weeks he would front up and others he wouldn’t, he was a bit different.”
“But he had a brilliant turn of foot.”
Kilkelly has more to look forward to this week with Fiery Bandito back on the Dominion trail at Addington on Thursday night and Burning Love stepping out at Wyndham on Friday.
