Not one to get too carried away with his own success, Colin DeFilippi was typically low key after a milestone win at Addington yesterday.
When Beaudiene Quick Step got up to narrowly win the Ox McEwan at Ryal Bush Transport Pace it marked the 300th training success for the husband and wife combo of Colin and Julie DeFilippi.
“Pretty pleased,” was DeFilippi’s response.
Beaudiene Quick Step settled back early then made a three wide move tracking favourite Don Juan at the 600 before going on to win by a head.
“My plan was to go forward but I got further back than I thought I would and it was survival of the fittest,” DeFilippi told Harness Unhinged’s Nigel Armstrong post race.
DeFilippi bought the horse at the 2020 NZB Standardbred sale for $10,000 and yesterday’s win was his first in 24 starts.
“I picked him out on type. He had enough breeding and no one liked The Rocknroll Dances which made him cheap, which put him in my bracket. He had good manners but he’s let me down on race day to be honest. I thought he was a three or four win horse. It still could come.”
Based at Broadfield in Canterbury, the DeFilippis have been training in partnership since 1999, the 300 wins coming from 2809 starts.
“We’ve never done a big team, with sixteen about our limit.”
Before that Colin had 277 wins on his own account (1977-99). In those days he highlights the success of Our Mana, who won 20 races overall and finished second for DeFilippi in two New Zealand Cups in 1984 and 85, behind Camelot and Borana.
In partnership with Julie his biggest successes have been with Kym’s Girl in the 2001 New Zealand Cup and Stent in the 2015 Rowe Cup. The couple’s first win was with Tomodachi at Banks Peninsula on May 3, 1999.
As well as training a total of 577 winners, Colin has also driven 2066 winners, putting him eighth on the all-time list, behind Tony Herlihy (3647), Maurice McKendry (3382), Ricky May (3068), David Butcher (2584), Blair Orange (2583), Dexter Dunn (2226) and Peter Ferguson (2115).
