Buddy Reign relishes the rain to end drought

A miserable wet night in Christchurch last Wednesday couldn’t dampen the spirits of Richmond Park harness racing trainer Kevin Musso. His eight-year-old pacer Buddy Reign rocked punters, scoring his first win in three seasons.

“I thought if Buddy stepped away from the standing start he was a reasonable chance, as he hadn’t had a lot of luck lately,” says Kevin, who also bred the horse.
But that was a huge if as “Buddy” had only had one stand in his previous 68 career starts and had galloped hopelessly as the tapes flew at Westport, losing 100 metres. The horse had obviously forgotten that as he negotiated the start and then was given a sweet passage by top horseman Tim Williams.

He challenged at the top of the straight and powered through the slush to win by half a head. Fortunately Buddy has a pretty big head to go with his huge frame.
Kevin reckons the relentless rain and resulting “give” in track conditions helped his old-timer.

“He’s had a few niggles over the years which is why he has only had the 69 starts,” reveals the Richmond Park track manager. Kevin took out his trainer’s licence in 1992 and Buddy provided him with just his seventh winner. It was the 69-year-old’s first training victory at Addington Raceway, headquarters for South Island trotting.

While Buddy is a big unit, Kevin is no stranger to huge conveyances. He worked for the railways for 46 years, including stints in Queensland and Western Australia, and drove 50,000 tonne trains that stretched for three kilometres. He and his wife Debbie retired from North Canterbury to Nelson a decade ago and the hobby trainer became a welcome addition to the local harness ranks.

“When I was 14, I used to bike from Bishopdale to Templeton to help out in stables,” recalls Kevin. In those days, Templeton in the heart of Canterbury harness racing country, was arguably the most successful training area in New Zealand.

Relocating to Nelson has meant clocking up huge kilometres to race Buddy Reign and his seven-year-old stablemate Melando Chief, which provided Kevin with his last win on his home track in 2023.

“The two horses are great mates, travelling companions and call out to each other if they are being separated.” On and off the track, as the last 10 times Buddy Reign has lined up, Melando Chief has also been in eight of them.

It was Buddy Reign’s fifth start in just 18 days as Kevin found enough racing dates to make the trip south worthwhile.

“We hook the horse float on the back of the camper van and off we go,” says Kevin.
The Mussos were staying with trainer-driver Kyle Cameron who normally handles Buddy Reign on race night.

But thinking he wouldn’t start in a stand, Kyle pulled the wrong rein and had accepted another drive. The Musso team used to race in red silks but now sport unmissable yellow and black. “Some of our friends are getting older and commented they were having trouble spotting our horses as there was so many red silks going around,” explains Kevin.