From racing tracks to raising future stars

The Garrard family’s involvement in harness racing goes back a century but their foray into breeding and selling yearlings is a relatively new venture.

Trainer Daren Garrard, 55, has 15 horses in work. He has trained 559 winners of more than $3 million. He had an outstanding 2023 season, training 27 winners of $367,000 in stakes – his most lucrative season in terms of money.

He prepared Sir Fahrenheit to finish fifth in the 2023 Brisbane trotters Interdominion final and Classie Washington finished 12^th in the pacers Interdominion final, after placings in the three heats.

He also ran seventh with Regazzo Di Tilly (1.53.6, $58K) in the Queensland Derby and fourth in the QBred Triad final for three-year-old colts and geldings. The gelding is a product of the Garrard breeding program.

“Our family has been involved for 100 years. I am not even sure of all the history,” Daren Garrard said. “I am a professional hobby trainer and I manage the family business, Garrards Horse and Hound. My wife Gayle handles most of the breeding side – she also distributes semen for Nevele R Stud and Trotters Australasia.”

Garrard’s son Angus, 20, has had a stellar start to his career as a reinsman, driving winners of more than $1 million in stakes for the past four seasons. He has already notched up 690 winners in the cart and drove both his dad’s runners in the Interdominion finals.

Daren Garrard said the family had built up a band of 28 broodmares, many of them good mares that the family had raced.

“Gayle buys broodmares that she likes and we have kept some of our good race mares,” Garrard said. “They are mostly younger mares with good race records and strong bloodlines. The mares are kept at Burwood Stud. It is a great property to raise the youngsters and set them up for a good race career.”

The family will offer six yearlings at the APG Gold Coast Yearling Sale on January 28.

Garrard said the For A Reason colt (Lot 52) out of Mathilda Diventa (1.55, $129K) was likely to attract quite a bit of attention. He will be presented by Daren and his father Chris Garrard.

“This is a good draft of youngsters. They are well put together and they are all for sale,” Garrard said. “We bred and raced Mathilda Diventa and she has already produced two-year-old Triad winner Quik Change (1.54.8, $119K) and Regazzo Di Tilly from her first two foals.

“The Changeover colt (Lot 32) from Hold Me Closer is also an exceptional looking youngster.” Art Major mare Hold Me Closer is a half-sister to Maximillion (1.56.7, $153K) and Making Magic (1.56, $133K), dam of Macheasy (1.50.2, $299K) and three-year-old fillies QBred Triad winner Magical Maya (1.52.4, $118K).

For full details and catalogued yearlings in the 2024 Australian Pacing Gold Yearling Sales, Online Sales Catalogue or Register as a Buyer now.

From APG Ltd