Stable foreman Nathan Darr proud to represent LGBTIQA+ community

By Jordan Gerrans

It is widely accepted that if you work in the racing industry, then there is a high likelihood you will be starting work so early that much of the community are still sleeping in bed.

Even by racing standards, Brisbane’s Nathan Darr has an early alarm.

The foreman for the training partnership of Steven O'Dea and Matthew Hoysted is the first one in the door at the stables most mornings – turning on the lights and inspecting to see how all the horses got through the night.

The 30-year-old has long been a trusted and valued member of the stable that has been a prolific force on metropolitan racing in the Sunshine State over the last few years.

“Nathan has been an integral part of our team here for four years now,” co-trainer Hoysted said.

“He has graduated from being a senior stable hand into a foreman role.

“His duties include working closely with Steven and myself, running of the tie-up stalls of a morning and liaising with vets, farriers and the like, and pretty much all in between.

"He is a very knowledgeable person and has been in the industry for a number of years and he is very much a key asset to our team.”

The stable foreman is a proud member of the LGBTIQA+ community as an openly gay man.

“If you are gay – wear it, own it and be it,” Darr declares as he chats at Eagle Farm for Racing Queensland’s Racing with Pride series.

“You only experience that self-consciousness when you are not being who you are because you are always playing an act and being something that you are not. Just live it.”

Darr has worked in racing for the best part of 14 years and believes that the number of people who are openly gay within the industry has exploded since his early days on the Darling Downs.

He thinks that because racing is an open and accepting space for members of the LGBTIQA+ community, it allows more people to come into the sport to work in stables and feel comfortable.

“It has come a long way as I have never experienced any negativity,” Darr said.

“I have never really seen too much push back within racing in terms of homosexuality.

“In the old days you would be struggling to pick one gay person, now there are openly gay people everywhere you look in the sport.

“As an industry as a whole, there has never been that push back for the topic of homosexuality.

“It is a changing world as the gays are so out there and open these days, people are more comfortable.”

Darr grew up on the Darling Downs and that is where his journey in racing commenced.

He was studying at Warwick TAFE and was pointed in the direction of the racing industry, as a teacher noticed how well Darr interacted with horses.

Growing up on a property at Mount Tyson on the outskirts of Toowoomba, Darr was already a proficient rider.

Not long after he began working on the ground for the late Darryl Gollan which progressed to a role with Darryl’s son and now leading trainer Tony.

The racing lover did two years with the Gollans at Clifford Park before relocating to Brisbane when the team moved into the city.

“Darryl taught me a lot of the old-school ways, which helped me be a better horseman,” Darr said.

“Just understanding and handling horses, knowing why they are acting the way they are.

“Just about how horses read our body language and read their body language back – which has helped a lot – specifically with teaching other people as well. It taught me to be better with horses.”

Darr was under the watch of champion Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan for seven years before a stint with the now retired and respected Barry Baldwin.

Darr says his time under Tony Gollan gave him the confidence to deal with horses' owners more often and evolve with his communication skills.

Hoysted was also at Gollan’s stable for a period of time before he went into partnership with O'Dea.

The Group 1-winning Hoysted recently promoted Darr from a senior stable hand role at their business into a foreman position.

“It all comes with knowledge and the understanding of how our system does work,” Hoysted said.

“He is very good with the staff and good at what he does.

“He is very reliable and passionate – so when you can find someone in your team like that – it is a big help.”

For the O'Dea and Hoysted team, Darr is the first in the door every morning at 2:30am and will then put horses on the walker to kick-off the process before manning the tie-up stalls as the stable works through their glut of gallopers.

Hoysted credits Darr for his handling of Tumbler Ridge throughout his career.

The co-trainer notes that as Tumbler Ridge is a stallion, he can be hard to handle at times and Darr worked closely with him on race day to keep him happy and relaxed for his assignment.

There has been a lot of top horses to come out of O'Dea and Hoysted’s yard in recent years but Darr takes the most pride in the deeds of star sprinter Uncommon James.

Darr is his strapper whenever he races in Queensland.

“I took him to his maiden and all his early trials,” he said.

“I took him to his trial the other day so I have had a lot to do with him and seen him turn into such a confident horse.

“People think that just because he is a Group 1 horse then he must be really quiet but he can really drag when you strap him.”

Darr strapped eventual Melbourne Cup champion Vow And Declare in his Queensland campaign in the year he went on to win the race that stops the nation.