Brad Holmes has achieved goals in his first two winning drives.
"My goals were to win in dad's colours and to win a race at Cambridge," Holmes said.
Holmes (34) drove Royal Mission to win in the gold colours with four green diamonds at Gate Pa in January. He drove the Sean McCaffrey-trained Royal Mission to win on his home track yesterday.
Holmes is manager of the La Costa Nostra Racing syndicate which races Royal Mission. Holmes said his next aim was to train a winner and he will take out a licence next season.
He assists McCaffrey and also Luk Chin at Bruntwood. Holmes began assisting Chin eight months ago when Robyn Chin broke an ankle.
He is the only son of Kevin Holmes, the first New Zealander to win the world driving championship, who succeeded in 1978 in North America.
Holmes was a replacement for Peter Wolfenden, who had been injured.
Holmes was in America campaigning Testing Times. The Schell Hanover-Emotional gelding had won 10 of his 13 starts in New Zealand as a 2yr-old in the 1976-77 season when trained at Cambridge by Holmes and Colin Butler.
Holmes raced Testing Times with Colin Johnson, whose son, Ross, races Cowgirls N Indians, the 2yr-old filly who won a Harness Jewels race on Saturday.
Brad entered harness racing when he left school in 1993 and worked for Roy Purdon and later John Langdon. He was deeply affected when his father took his own life in 1981, and left the industry for about 10 years until 2003.
He was given the broodmare Bee Gee's Copy by Jean McMillan and bred Soul To Squeeze, a winner at Cambridge in March for trainer Mick Messiter, who has the Iraklis mare leased.
Brad is a cousin of Robbie Holmes, the Leithfield Beach horseman and a fifth generation of a family that has made major contribution to New Zealand racing.
Maurice Holmes, the 17-time leading driver, was an uncle of Kevin.
Free Holmes, the great-grandfather of Brad, rode Manton to win the 1888 New Zealand Cup and he trained and drove Trix Pointer to win the New Zealand Cup at Addington.
