Winning double for Garrard

Talented young reinsman Angus Garrard took the driving honours with a winning harness racing double at Albion Park on Saturday night. 

Garrard showed plenty of patience on Rocknroll Times (Rock N Roll Heaven) ($17) easing out of the running line approaching the home turn before timing his run to a nicety holding on to score by a short half head from Littlelioneljames. 

Garrard said the son of Rock N Roll Heaven bounced back from a ‘down the track’ effort four days earlier. 

“He was back from the longer trip on Tuesday which suited him and the race set up pretty well for him three back in the running line with the leaders running a quick first half (56.4),” Garrard said. 

ROCNROLL TIMES REPLAY

Later in the night Garrard and the seven-year-old mare Miss Mucho combined to outclass their rivals in the Jujon Band 5 Mares Pace. 

Miss Mucho enjoyed a cosy run on the back of the leader Macarena Madi, and when eased into the sprint lane,  the daughter of Mach Three put the race beyond doubt in a matter of strides running away with an eight metre margin. 

“She just finished too well for them once we were in the lane,” he said. 

“She is a classy mare and was back in grade on Saturday night, she was full of running on the line.” 

Garrard is a prominent name in harness racing with Angus’ father Daren managing Garrards Horse And Hound which was founded by his grandfather Chris and has outlets in most states of Australia. 

“I completed Year 12 and did a few Certificates but it was inevitable that I was going to end up in harness racing,” he said. 

Garrard is a product of the pony trot pathway through to the race track. 

“I started in the pony trots and was driving fast work at around 11 or 12,” he said. 

The 20-year-old Garrard enjoyed a meteoric rise in the Queensland driving ranks chalking up 177 winners in his first full season of racing in the 2019/20 season. 

And he has proceeded to drive 100 winners plus in three subsequent seasons. 

“I only started driving midway through 2018/2019 season and only had about 100 drives (for 10 wins) until the end of the season,” he said. 

Garrard credits the support from his father Daren and Darrel Graham for his immediate success along with a plethora of small stables. 

“I don’t drive a lot for the top five or so stables to this stage of my career so I rely on a lot of the smaller stables,” he said. 

Garrard acknowledges he has had the good fortune to observe and learn his craft off some of the greatest drivers in the sport’s history. 

“I have watched people like Gavin Lang, Chris Alford, Mark Purdon, Luke McCarthy and the Rasmussen girls here in Queensland,” he said. 

Garrard cites his win on Sir Fahrenheit in the Group 2 Trotters Sprint in November 2021 as his biggest thrill in his career to date. 

“It was my first Group 2 win and the fact he is trained by Dad and owned by Trumby Park made it pretty special,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Garrard is awaiting his first Group 1 success. 

“I’m still looking for that horse,” he said. 

“I’m driving Manila Playboy who has stepped up to free for all class and hopefully he can win a nice race one day.” 

by John Dunne, for Harnesslink