Respected jockey calls time in the saddle

By Jordan Gerrans

It was not the fairytale ending that Gary Geran had dreamed of but the respected bush rider walks away from his career in the saddle filled with pride of the legacy he has created for his family.

The 51-year-old took two rides in the regional show-piece races at Doomben last Saturday afternoon – the Country Cups Challenge and Stampede Final.

With his retirement decision already made, Gary hoped to pick up one of the feature races and ride into the sunset as a perfect end to his 35 years in the saddle.

The Geran family did win the Stampede Final with Gary’s wife Kylie and son Corey training Mahbaby to victory.

But, Gary was not in the saddle of the winner.

He rode Jack Be Lucky who finished just over five lengths behind the stable mate.

Mahbaby was the second emergency and looked like she may not get a start for the race so it was a simple decision for Gary to ride Jack Be Lucky.

Gary's mount - Vinasta - finished back in the field in the CCC decider. 

The popular jockey thought that victory in either of the big races would have been a fitting send-off after a career that yielded an array of regional feature races, city winners and jockey’s premierships.

“That would have been excellent but it was not to be the fairytale ending,” Gary said.

“It was great that we did win the race, just not the one I was riding.”

Mahbaby claimed the Stampede in the end but the stable thought Jack Be Lucky was the best winning hope on form.

“I always rated Jack Be Lucky the better chance but when he drew 23 it was always going to be pretty tough for him,” Corey said post-race.

“Mahbaby only ran third in the qualifier but it was enough to get her into the Final.”

Gary has long been a hoop who has battled with his weight and while he will still be involved in the industry daily going forward, he has decided to retire from race riding to give his body a breather from all the wasting and losing weight.

With more than a 1,000 winners to his name, Gary has been contemplating hanging up the boots for the last 12 months or so.

“I have just lost the motivation to keep the weight under control,” he said.

“To do it for 35 years, I do not have the motivation to do it any more.

“It is pretty true that they say you know when you are finished as a jockey and I know now that I am ready. Without the motivation, I just cannot do it.”

The fairytale ending did not eventuate on Saturday but Gary reflects back on his career with a sense of achievement for what he was able to produce.

He is a two-time Birdsville Cup champion, won a Clifford Park rider’s premiership back in 1996 and in his own words says he has won ‘every decent country race in the area around Toowoomba once or twice’.

To do so while struggling to be even out there on race day, Gary looks back proudly.

“I am quite happy with what I have achieved as I have always battled with weight,” he said.

“I achieved everything I possibly could have in terms of country racing, I am happy with that.

“To go for so long and ride as many winners as I did, that is an achievement in itself with the battles I had with my weight.

“It was always a big thing for me, keeping my weight and riding, and that led to me doing most of my riding in the country and Toowoomba. 

“I struggled in the winter time and the higher weight scales in the country allowed me to stay in it as long as I could really. I have kept my weight down at times over the summer months.”

Gary has done the riding over the years while his wife Kylie has trained.

Their son Corey has joined Kylie in a training partnership in recent years.

Corey lived at the Sunshine Coast while he attended university and gained a business degree.

He started his training career after working as a foreman for John Symons and Sheila Laxon at Caloundra.

The Gerans have developed into a force on the provincial and country circuit over the last four years since the partnership started.

They finished in the top 10 in the provincial and country premiership in the state last season and are within the top bracket again in 2023-24.

If it was not for Gary’s deeds in the saddle, the Geran clan would not have been able to establish an up-and-coming stable as quickly as they have done over the last few campaigns.

Kylie lauded her husband for his ‘dedication and integrity’ throughout his career as a jockey.

“There are so many highs and of course the lows, the joy outweighed the pain,” Kylie said on social media. 

“Over the years you never changed. You could ride winners from Brisbane to Sydney to Birdsville and still be so humble.

“You always pushed yourself for me and the boys to provide a life we could only imagine.”

Gary has given away race riding but he will still be in the saddle daily.

Every morning, he will ride a dozen horses that the family are training, as well as educating the babies that are coming through the system.

The Geran clan have stables at Clifford Park at Toowoomba as well as an operation at Dalby.

Gary says he will not become a co-trainer alongside his son and wife.

He will just fill in the gaps like driving horses to the races as the team often have runners at as many as three tracks every Saturday.

“I still enjoy riding track work,” he said.

“Just to get the feeling of how the horses are going and progressing, I think that is the best way when you can ride them as you get a good guide on them.

“Every year the stable has improved and the numbers have increased horse wise, we have 40 horses and quite easily could another 20 if we had more stables.

“We are progressing quite well and we will just continue to try and improve the quality of horses and take them to where they can win races, more or less.”

The born-and-bred Toowoomba horseman loved riding on his home track at Clifford Park.

It was the track he was the most successful at – piloting 442 winners there.

The next highest track on the leader board was all the way back at 68, being Dalby.

Gary has lived on the Darling Downs for the vast majority of his life outside of stints in Sydney and the Gold Coast during his apprenticeship.

Reflecting on his career, Gary says he would have loved to win a hometown Toowoomba Cup or Weetwood Handicap.

He was able to place in both local features but unable to win them as a rider as his weight limited what engagements he could take.

He had offers to go ride in Malaysia and Macau during his career but wanted to stay as close to his family as possible in regional Queensland.

One of the great highlights of Gary’s career was his time riding in Sydney for a year as a youngster.

He says he thrived on the competitive nature of the jockey’s room down there at the time, rubbing shoulders and fighting for black-type success with greats of the caper such as Jim Cassidy, Darren Beadman and Shane Dye.