Nikita Burton delighted with win in Darren DeFilippi Memorial

By Michael Guerin

Nikita Burton won one of the most important junior drivers races on the New Zealand harness calendar at her first try at Addington last night.

Burton made the most of the staying qualities of Kairaki Spur to take out the Darren DeFilippi Memorial, the annual Addington race to remember the young driver who was taken far too early in a car crash in 1995.

That was before Burton or the other drivers in last night’s feature were even born but they all know how important the race is to the industry and to the 
DeFilippi family.

Fittingly, Darren’s parents Colin and Julie, trained the first winner on Friday night with Colin driving Irish Dream to victory for the stable.

Burton is at the other end of her career and was stoked to win such an emotion-soaked race.

“I can’t believe it really, it's my first drive in a race that means so much to so many people,” said Burton.

“Dean [Stapleton, stable rep] told me if they went hard we could be in it and that is exactly what happened and we got the gap at the right time.”

That Kairaki Spur can stay should surprise nobody as he is a grandson of the great trotting mare Merinai, who won both the Rowe Cup and Dominion.

He had to be brave to win though as Almighty set a torrid tempo up front last night, clocking 3:18.5 for the 2600m standing start, so not surprisingly those off handicaps had no chance to get into the race.

Another leader-dominated race saw Kotare Rimu make it three wins on end when he easily held his rivals at bay after some pedestrian middle sectionals in the Continental Event Hire Mobile.

Like so many of the good three-year-olds we are seeing doing some flashy things on the track this winter, the Derby and three-year-old group races loom later in the season, all of course in big shadow of the little star that is Jumal.

Easton Doll for trainer Bronson Munro and the Ken Barron-trained Nikolai Ray both left maidens from the front end of their races earlier while St Paddy won well for his breeders the Browns, who raced his outstanding dam Foreal.

And Tact Teva capped a good night, albeit without much luck, for Burton’s employers Team Telfer when he won the last like a horse with plenty to learn but a good-sized motor.