The horse produced a tough driving finish with rider Masa Tanaka aboard to claim the feature ahead of runner-up Boots ’N’ All.
Kolonel Kev jumped well and took up a handy position on the rail behind the leaders, Spider and Vinevale, and had the favourite, Son Of Maher, to his outside.
On the corner, Tanaka shunted Son Of Maher and Chris Johnson out of the way to get clear air and launch their winning run.
"At the 600m Son Of Maher looked flat so I tried to push Chris Johnson out and we had a bit of a ding-dong, but my horse was going better and he was too strong in the straight," Tanaka said.
Kolonel Kev was having just his second start from Riccarton trainer Terri Rae’s stable. The horse was previously trained in the North Island by Lisa Latta.
After heading to his new stable in August, Kolonel Kev won in premier company during the New Zealand Cup carnival in his first start for Rae.
"The horse is obviously thriving in the South Island environment and Terri is a very good trainer," Tanaka said.
"He’s always been a nice horse and he felt amazing today."
Tommy Tucker ran the bravest of third placings in his quest to win three consecutive Timaru Cups.
The horse was a stride slow to begin but was bustled into a handy position on the rail by rider Jacob Lowry.
He battled hard in the straight under his 60kg and continued to find the line strongly behind Kolonel Kev and Boots ’N’ All.
The way the horse attacked the line may suggest he is looking to step back up to 2000m.
Son Of Maher disappointed in running fifth.
Earlier at Timaru, Our Foreman stamped himself as a horse to follow with a dominant win in race 2.
Rider Samantha Wynne had the Neill Ridley-trained galloper in front soon after the start and they never gave their rivals a look in.
• Plans to race open-class pacer Thefixer in next week’s Central Otago Trotting Cup have had to be cancelled by trainers Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen.
The horse had previously been suffering from a hoof issue that had cleared up but again resurfaced, Purdon said on his stable website.
The main part of the horse’s season looks to be over, as Thefixer will now spend 12 weeks out of training in order to remedy the issue.
— Jonny Turner, additional reporting NZ Racing Desk
