Kyle Harper became the latest driver to enter the 1000 club, with Always Changin delivering the milestone win on Friday night at Gloucester Park at incredible $126 odds.
It was fitting that he took out the milestone win on board a Maryann White horse, with the York based stable giving Harper his first ever drive as a teen down at Busselton, with a fall on the corner seeing the race having to be re-run, Harper joked that he got another chance to get it right.
Win 999 was on board the Maryann White trained Brewery Lane and White commented that the 1000th should have been with her horse, but it has since been revealed that technically it was his 1000th win, with his first official winner disqualified due a positive swab back at the start of his career.
Coming from a harness racing background and a successful one at that, it would be assumed that getting into the game would be a natural progression for Harper, but for him, it was anything but that as a young boy.
“I hated working with the horses, any sort of work was not my cup of tea. I used to hide when I would get home from school, so I didn’t have to go help the old man.
“I didn’t really know what I was going to do, I had no interest until I left school in year 10 and didn’t really know what to do with life.
“I sort of took it a bit for granted because to the old man was successful back in those days and I kind of just thought it was going to all be there if I wanted it, so I didn’t really want it.
“So, when it wasn’t there, human nature, I went ‘I want to do that now.”
“Donald was always the one that was going to do it, he loved it and was going to do it from a young age, and I never showed much interest until I was 16 or 17.
Gaining his reinsman’s licence at 17-years-old in 2007, Harper got his initial leg up into the industry when he went to work for Ross Olivieri
“He was good enough to give me a go, and I started my career there, he taught me a lot, and that’s where I got my foot in the door.
“Even though I was brought up around horses and was really with horses, I didn’t really know the racing side because I wasn’t interested.”
Things have changed and his passion for horses and racing have grown ten-fold, with Harper eventually taking out his trainer’s licence during the 2010/11 season, which saw him win a total of 110 races, including two group 1 victories, with Franco Edward NZ taking out the 2YO Golden Slipper and 2YO Pearl Classic Final within four weeks of each other.
Harper had incredible success with Bettors Fire NZ, with five Group 2 wins and three Group 3 victories, it was his win on the 25th of November 2016 in a heat of the Inter Dominion series here in Perth, where he beat Smolda, that gave him some of the highest of highs a trainer and driver can experience in the sport.
With no plans to step back from the trots, Harper looks forward to the next 1000, and he did mention training again isn’t off the cards, but for now he’s enjoying driving and spending time with his little family of three.
Ashleigh Paikos
Photo: Pacepix