Last in but first home in cup boilover

Harness racing is all about fun for South Australian couple Kevin and Lyn Von Duve – but it’s fair to say there’s not much better fun than winning your home town cup.

The couple’s feisty pacer Springfield Affair (Shadow Play) scored the narrowest of wins at bolter’s odds ($85) to capture the Mount Gambier Gold Cup on Saturday night (Mar 4), giving the hobby trainer one of his greatest thrills in the sport.

“I thought he could go with them – but I wasn’t expecting to win from barrier five!” an elated Von Duve admitted.

“We were the last qualifier – the first four in each of the heats went through, and we got in as the fastest fifth. We just snuck in and there you go. You never know!”

Von Duve said he was thrilled to be in the final, but felt the odds were not stacked in favor of the five year old, who’s now had 13 wins in his career.

“He went pretty poorly at Strathalbyn the week before and I really don’t know what happened there. He had drawn the back row and is not really a chaser, so perhaps that’s all it was,” he said.

“So on Saturday night I just told Mark (driver Mark Phillips) to take it easy and see what happens – just to go out and have fun.  And he did that!”

Phillips eased Springfield Affair from the mobile and guided him to the fence, eventually settling three back on the inside, then took the sprint lane run to win by a short half-head from Sea Lover (Jackie Barker).

“Mark did a super job – he is a plumber, like I am, and the plumbers have got to stick together!” Von Duve said.

“We’ve both only part-timers with the harness racing, but I think he’s definitely the best local driver we have going around.  He is third generation in the sport and does a great job,” he said.

SPRINGFIELD AFFAIR REPLAY

Von Duve got into the sport in the `1970s, and it was courting his wife-to-be that first got him involved.

“Lyn told me we had to go to the trots to watch her brother-in-law Dennis Howard’s horse – and I didn’t know anything about it.  I thought, ‘Oh yeah, whoopy-do’, but that was where it started,” he laughed.

“Soon I was going to the trots and helping out a few trainers and then I got my first horse and a little block to use.  I got my driver’s licence in the 1970s, too.  But early on we really didn’t have a great lot of success.  We were training discards and lease horses, but it helps you learn.”

Once bitten by the harness racing bug, Von Duve was a good learner!  From his novice status, he became a driver, trainer, and now manages every aspect of his stable, including shoeing. The couple gave away harness racing for about a decade when they bought a farm, as well as running their business, and were raising their family.

“But we got back into it about 10 or 12 years ago once the family has grown up. We bought a yearling in Adelaide, and he was Mayor of Shinetown and he won 13 races for us – he was a lovely horse.  He had 200 starts and was placed nearly 50 times.  He wasn’t a star, but he just tried every time,” he said.

The couple also bought The Big Show (Major In Art) from the sales, who provided them with their biggest win in the sport, the 2015 2YO Golden Nursery Final at Globe Derby (Group 3).

“From the time we got back into the sport we’ve done things a bit different, trying to buy nicer horses from the yearling sales.  Springfield Affair was one of those.  We paid $8000 for him, but he’s won us $81,000 now, and he’s also one who just gets out there and tries every time,” Von Duve said.

“We’re just really enjoying the sport. Our son is handling a lot of the business side of things now, so that gives us the ability to travel to Adelaide or into Victoria if the horses are going okay.”

Although Lyn is part-owner of the horses, Von Duve said her first love was trail riding.

“I don’t ride and she doesn’t drive in the cart! We’ve got two vehicles and floats and often it’s her going one way and me going the other!” he said.

“She knows a lot more about horses than I do, but she loves the harness racing too.  We had an absolute ball at the Cup – it was a big crowd and fantastic night.”

“I’ve still got goosebumps when I think about it!” Lyn said.

For complete race results, click here.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink