Spotlight On: Angus Garrard

But don’t be fooled, Garrard relished the opportunity and thrived under the intense scrutiny as he was thrust into the limelight after making a flying start to the series on the opening night of the series.

Garrard drove with great poise blended with fierce determination, and it was a recipe for success.

On the opening night, from nine drives following a scratching, Garrard landed a driving double (Lenny Lincoln and Sweet Options) while being minor placed on four other occasions. His unplaced efforts resulted in fourth, fifth and ninth place.

At the end of the opening night, he held a slight lead over Hall Jnr who also drove brilliantly.

Returning the following night, several drivers had positioned themselves well to be a chance of taking the title but ‘lady luck’ was required for several, including Garrard.

But ‘The Kid’ made a flying start after finishing second in the opening race before winning the second race (Dele Row) of the night.

A green cloth cover was added to the helmet for the leading points scorer and Garrard carried it into the second night. In fact, he never lost it throughout the second night.

His remaining results were eighth, no drive (six starters), sixth, 10th, scratched, second, fourth before taking the final race of the series when bringing Betting Jewel down the outside with a well-timed finish to score.

Garrard crossed the finish line, performing a whip flourish.

“That was a build-up of emotion and stress coming out of me,” Garrard said afterwards.

From 17 drives across the weekend, Garrard scored four victories while being placed in another six events.

Garrard finished comfortably ahead of Hall Jnr and McMullen. It’s expected all three drivers will return next year.

“The whole concept was carried out very well. It’s such a unique event for our sport and all the drivers brought their own styles but these events can’t happen without the support from local owners and trainers. They were amazing with their support,” he said.

“When the fields were released on the Monday night without drivers ahead of the draft, I found it very difficult to map speed charts without drivers listed. It felt very weird without knowing which driver was driving which horse, looking at naked fields was an oddity.

“My first pick at the draft was Rylee Rhayne Bow and she got beat, very unlucky, but I was able to land a winner with my 137th pick at the draft which proves how much luck was at play.”

Garrard, the son of Daren and Gayle, has made a cracking start to his career in the sulky with his tally nearing 900 lifetime wins. He has reached triple figures every season for the past five years including a career high 177 winners in his first full season of driving (2019/20).

A graduate of the mini-trotting ranks, Garrard has been surrounded by horses his entire life and marveled at the skill sets of drivers like the late Gavin Lang, Luke McCarthy and New Zealand-born star Dexter Dunn, while North American record breaker Tim Tetrick also garnered close attention.

After completing school at St Paul’s School at Bald Hills, Garrard jumped at the opportunity to work alongside his father and prepare the team of standardbreds at their Burpengary East property.

With the Inter Dominion Championships returning to Brisbane in July, Garrard is keen to play a role again like he did back in 2023 when he took drives in both the Pacing and Trotting Grand Finals.