Garrard’s long wait ends in Group 1 blitz

By Jordan Gerrans

From winless at the elite level to two Group 1 victories in the space of a few hours, it was a night for the history books at Albion Park on Saturday evening for leading reinsman Angus Garrard.

The 23-year-old has risen sharply through the driving ranks in recent years and had been working towards securing his maiden win at the highest level.

He had driven in 40 Group 1 events prior to Saturday’s program without being able to break through.

But, within the space of four races, he went from zero Group 1 wins to two following a flurry of victories on the feature stage.

The Queenslander started his big-race winning ways behind Pure Grunt for Redcliffe horseman Donny Smith before landing another elite prize with trainer Shane Fraser when maiden Mullum Showgirl scored in the best possible way.

“I thought I had a few drives in with a good shot, but obviously, in those sorts of races, you still need everything to go right,” the young reinsman said.

“You need those horses to turn up on the night and be 100 percent.

“I wouldn't say I was confident, but I thought it was probably a chance. I'd definitely say it's one of my most exciting nights on a racetrack; that's for sure.

“It's something I've been chasing for a while now and it probably slipped away a couple of times before when it probably looked like I had a good shot.

“It's something I've always wanted and everyone strives to win Group 1.

"I was happy enough to have a full book of drives on Saturday night and finally win a Group 1 is pretty special.”

The son of top trainer Daren Garrard has been building towards his maiden Group 1 prize for many years.

He has a glut of Group 2, Group 3 and Listed triumphs on his resume.

Garrard was also crowned the inaugural winner of the Ultimate Driver Championship early last year at Albion Park, which pitted the local reinsman against some of the leading drivers from around the globe.

He also recorded his 1,000th career victory at just 22 years of age, making him one of the youngest to ever record that milestone in the bike.

To make the Group 1 blitz even sweeter for Garrard, he delivered the victories for stables who have supported him since his earliest days in the driving ranks.

Veteran conditioner Smith and astute horseman Fraser have long been two of his biggest supporters.

Pure Grunt, a relatively new addition to the Smith camp, won the QBRED TRIAD Final for the three-year-old boys.

“Donny, I've been driving for him pretty well since I started and they've both been great supporters,” the reinsman said.

“I did say to Shane after the race on Saturday night that we were probably due to win a Group 1.

“There were a few times where things didn’t go our way, but it was good it finally panned out our way.

“They were both pretty rewarding, really. They're both stables that have supported me for a long time.

“It was good to give them some big race success back.”

As Garrard noted, he and Fraser had gone close in several big races in recent years with Manila Playboy, who the Cobaki-based trainer prepares.

Manila Playboy is a two-time Group 1 champion, but on those occasions, it was Shane Graham and Kelli Dawson in the bike instead of Garrard.

Mullum Showgirl was a maiden performer before scoring in Saturday’s QBRED TRIAD Final for the two-year-old fillies.

Fraser owns, bred and prepares Mullum Showgirl and has had a long association with the breeding line the young filly comes from.

He prepared her mother The Hostess as well as her grandmother Bangkok Dancer.

Garrard, who is known as ‘The Kid’, partnered Mullum Showgirl in her first two career starts, finishing second on both occasions.

The reinsman was full of praise for Fraser, who gave his young filly five trials earlier this year before finally producing her on race day.

“It is a credit to Shane,” the driver said.

“He's really taken his time with her and really looked after her through her early education and trials and things like that.

“He chose to give her a little break earlier in the year and aim back at the TRIAD races.

“And, fortunately enough, it paid off. She was able to get the job done on the night when it counted. He does a terrific job, Shane.”