Trotting fanatic paces to win

Happy-go-lucky Melton harness racing trainer Kelly Stuart-Mitchell broke new ground this week – winning with a pacer at her first try!

The young former Kiwi, who obtained her licence in mid-2020, said her 51 runners prior to Monday’s success at Stawell, had all been square gaiters.

“It wasn’t planned. It just happened that way because I inherited a few trotters and we had some shares in others,” Kelly said.

“I had always thought I’d love to train a pacer. I really like the trotters because when they’re going well, there’s exciting times. But there’s always some challenges along the way,” she said.

“Fortunately, I did have a set of hopples in my harness gear which I’d used previously on a NZ yearling during its baby preparation and before it got tipped out!”

Three-year-old gelding Keayang Omar (Lincoln Royal-Dianne Valerie (Classic Garry) was always going to make it a memorable occasion for his owners Stuart-Mitchell and her partner Darren Aitken when he zipped straight to the front in the Wimmera Mallee Vet Services 3yo Maiden Pace.

The nice mover was rated to perfection by the highly skilled Jason Lee, and reeled off quarters of 31, 31.1, 30.7 and 28.7 on his way to a mile rate of 2.00.

“It was Jason who initiated us buying ‘Tony’ (stablename for Keayang Omar). We bought him off the Lee family, who have been great to us,” Kelly said.

“We gave the horse one trial and he went nicely. We’re training eight horses at the moment with a few others out in the paddock, and ‘Tony’ is the only one that Darren and I own.”

Kelly, who races under the banner of KSM Racing, has been training full-time for about 12 months.

“I’ve now had five winners and a stack of placings. It’s hard work at times, but I love training and being with the horses. Darren runs a business called ‘the Safety Specialist’ which is all about workplace safety and work apparel, and pops out and helps me whenever he can,” she said.

“Darren came to Stawell which was great. It was the first time I’d raced there, and they are the most beautiful, accommodating people.”

Kelly comes from a family steeped in harness racing.

Her father Robert Mitchell, now retired on the North Island of NZ, is known for the success he enjoyed with his last horse Just An Excuse (Live Or Die-My Excuse), who won two NZ cups, the 2004 Ballarat Pacing Cup of $75K, and a host of other feature races. The gelding won 16 of 27 starts for over $875,000. Kelly’s brother Todd, who still trains and drives, handled Just An Excuse.

“Dad also enjoyed training trotters during his career, so I suppose that’s where my love for them comes from,” Kelly said.

“But our next racing outing will be with our pacer Keayang Omar next week. He’s now got his own new hopples, so we’ll head to Kilmore in seven days.”

By Terry Gange for Harnesslink