Barcaldine's Richardson getting what he gives

By Jordan Gerrans

It was not that long ago that Brendan Richardson was considering chucking it all in. 

The Barcaldine-based horseman was finding it challenging to get the right balance when it comes to preparing his team of horses as well as managing his job to pay the bills during the day.

The former jockey knows that when you are preparing a team of gallopers, you cannot do it without your full and undivided attention. 

From almost stepping away from training all together to taking a horse into the big smoke during the carnival, it has been a big few months for Richardson. 

Richardson’s Get What You Give is on the way to Brisbane after scoring on his home deck over 1200 metres on Saturday in an Open Handicap.

As his stable star’s racing name details, the Central West trainer is now getting the rewards after putting in the time and effort.

“If you hang on long enough, you might get a good one,” he said with a laugh. 

“He is an absolute lovely horse; he is a good mate. He settles into the bush style; he loves being out in the bush and looking at all the wildlife.

“He has won three for me and he is hardly ever out of the money when he doesn’t win.”

The five-year-old chestnut gelding is in his second stint with Richardson.

He prepared the son of Spieth through 2024 where they collected two and three placings before work commitments forced Richardson to send the talented galloper to Rockhampton to be prepared. 

At the time, the 51-year-old was busy at work driving a concrete truck and opted to transfer the galloper to the coast to race.

“I thought I was going down a different path and I was nearly going to give it away, the training part of it,” he recalls.

“Anyway, circumstances have changed again and I am back into the horses.

“I sent him to another trainer as I was looking to get out of it really.

“If you want to do it properly, you need to put all your energy into it.”

After being based at Caloundra during his apprentice riding days, Richardson is now looking forward to taking a runner back to South East Queensland where he cut his teeth in the caper.

With apprentice hoop Brooke Johnson in the saddle, Get What You Give was a dominant winner on Saturday, scoring by more than a length as the gelding stretched out to the line. 

The voice of racing in the Central West Andrew Watts was full of praise of Richardson’s training performance following Saturday’s win. 

“It has been a wonderful effort to keep this horse up for as long as he has,” Watts said.

“He put the writing on the wall with a great run here at Barcaldine at the recent TAB day meeting.”

Get What You Give has only been back in Richardson’s care for his last two runs, culminating in Saturday’s triumph, which was the seventh of his 28-start career. 

“It was a good win and a good surprise,” the horseman said.

“It was not a surprise to win the race because the horse has ability. I rate him right up there; he is a tough fella as he has been all over the countryside.

“He still turns up for you. It was a good surprise, not an actual surprise.”

Richardson only prepares a small team with Get What You Give owned locally in Barcaldine. 

Richardson had a couple of stints as a rider, but weight was always going to get the best of him.

He last rode a winner in May of 2001 at Aramac after a couple of periods of time riding around the city.