Garry Kirkup has rediscovered his love of racing, with the 60-year-old Canberra trainer having a ‘reason to get out of bed’ each morning.
Since May, he’s trained a steady stream of winners, with Frisson and Light Press doing the stable proud on their home deck.
On May 19, Frisson (Jeff Penza) won the 1300m Benchmark 65 Handicap at Canberra, and on June 23, Light Press (Brendan Ward) raced on the Canberra Acton and proved too classy in the 1080m Maiden Handicap.
On Friday, Kirkup started three horses on the Canberra Acton, with his stable bringing up a winning double as Light Press (Brendan Ward) won the 1080m Class One Handicap and Frisson (Mathew Cahill) took out the 1206m TAB Federal Benchmark 70 Handicap.
“They’re running well for a small team,” Kirkup said.
“I don’t train as many as I used to, and I’ve really scaled down; I like having eight to ten horses in work these days.
“I still ride more than half of them every morning, but I’m getting a bit older, so I don’t want to be riding too many because it is hard to keep up with the cold mornings.
“I’m still loving it, and it’s good to have a nice little team, and when they are performing well, it’s a good reason to get out of bed in the morning.”
Kirkup’s sunny disposition is a welcome sight in Canberra, with the popular racing identity the first to admit that he has had his fair share of bad days over the past five and a half years.
The trainer had his world turned upside down in December 2017 after a horror car crash claimed the life of his partner, picnic jockey and trackwork rider Samara Johnson.
Kirkup, who was left in an induced coma after the crash, awoke to recover physically, but he has since struggled with profound grief.
“It was really hard to get going, and I just wanted to be left alone, and honestly, it took me a couple of years to talk about anything like that and enjoy racing again,” Kirkup said.
“It’s only been the last three years that I’ve started to enjoy training again, and I think it is a time thing, and slowly but surely, I’ll be able to put up with those feelings.
“I still don’t feel the greatest; I’m going okay now, but I’m not 100%, and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same, but I’ve just got to kick on, and Samara would have wanted me to do that and get those winners.”
Kirkup has undoubtedly come to appreciate the little things in life, and there was a special moment at Canberra on Friday that left him with a big smile on his face.
With Frisson winning in the TAB Federal, it also delivered jockey and good friend Mathew Cahill his first victory since returning from a fractured neck and 14 months out of the saddle.
“It was great, and I’ve got to admit, winning with Matty is one of the happiest wins I’ve had, and just because of injury and everything,” Kirkup said.
“He was riding for me back in 1989/90 when I started training for Mike Willisee in Cootamundra, and we’ve had a good friendship for a long time, and it was great to help get him that win after making a comeback.”
When quizzed on his current stable and how it all came to be, Kirkup said there was no real secret to his success, only that he and his team were doing their research before purchasing tried horses.
“Right now, I’ve just got some nice second-hand horses that we have bought online,” Kirkup said.
“Those two winners at Canberra, we got them online, and their trainers recommended that we buy them.
“I always ring up to check them out, and Ron Quinton told my son that Light Press would be a nice buy, and he was spot on.
“My oldest son Ben knows Simon Zahra’s foreman well, and he told us we ought to buy Frisson, and it’s worked out well.
“We’ve got a few nice ones there and an unraced one by Dream Ahead that we’ve got to barrier trial, but he is looking good, and things are going well.”
Kirkup will look to continue his excellent run at Canberra on Friday, August 4, and he touched on where his recent winners will head next.
“Frisson will probably go to Canberra again in the fortnight; he just loves the Acton,” Kirkup said.
“With Light Press, we’ll see how she is after the run, but I’m not sure she’ll go back to Canberra.
“We don’t think she is quite as good on the Acton as she is on the grass, so we’ll get away from the synthetic and give her a run somewhere else.”
For all results from Canberra’s meeting on Friday, click here.
