Inanup looked to have a real fight on his hands when Prime Candidate loomed menacingly at the 150m mark in Saturday’s Iron Jack Hcp (BM88) at Rosehill Gardens.
Even though Inanup had enjoyed a softer run than the Bjorn Baker colour bearer, his work over the last 100m gave him the honours of the race. He dropped into another gear when Nash Rawiller got serious, and to say he “savaged” the line is no exaggeration. In scoring his seventh career win, the six year old took his earnings to $285,000.
For Jarrod Austin it was an enormously satisfying win. “He’s taken a long time to strengthen,” said the trainer. “He won a race at Wyong in each of his first two preparations but trained off very quickly. Because of his fragile constitution and lack of appetite, I’ve always spaced his runs and not overworked him on the track. “He’s a beautifully clean winded horse which enables me to restrict his trackwork. Saturday’s race was only his eighth run in a year. To see him go to the line so strongly is a sure sign he’s finally reaping the benefits of maturity.”
Inanup was doing his best work at the finish of Saturday's Iron Jack Hcp - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Inanup had one race start for Kembla Grange trainer Gwenda Markwell, finishing out of a place at Gosford exactly three years ago. There was a reshuffle in the ownership soon after, with one of the original owners Dave Andrews electing to join the new syndicate.
Dave had raced horses previously with Jarrod, and thoroughly recommended the Warwick Farm trainer to his new co owners. “As pleased as I was to be offered the horse, I got a hell of a shock when he walked into my place,” recalled Austin. “He was on the small side and glaringly “knock kneed” on the nearside. The conformation fault worries me to this day, but touch wood it hasn’t caused a problem.”
Jarrod was one of very few people aware of an amazing coincidence involving Inanup at Rosehill Gardens. The plain little bay gelding with the “wonky” knee was tethered alongside a much bigger and more imposing chestnut gelding in the race day stalls.
It suddenly occurred to Jarrod that Inanup’s companion was none other than Noble Boy who was engaged in the listed Winter Stakes. Both horses are trained at Warwick Farm, both are sons of the quietly achieving stallion Bon Hoffa and both were to win on the day. The two horses have now accumulated fifteen wins between them.
A metropolitan double was a sound endorsement for Bon Hoffa, a Group 1 winning son of Belong To Me (USA) who stands at the Bowness Thoroughbred Stud at Young (NSW). As a gesture to broodmare owners in uncertain times, Bon Hoffa’s service fee for 2020 has been reduced to an enticing $5,500.
Jarrod after a win with Inanup's half brother Danpivot at Hawkesbury 2014 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Jarrod Austin fell under the spell of the thoroughbred horse at a very early age. His father Brian ran a small stud farm on the outskirts of Tamworth, and introduced his son to horses at the toddling stage. “Horses played a massive part in my upbringing,” he said. “My father taught me the right way to do things. He’s a great all round horseman who is still my best sounding board.”
Jarrod was in his late teens when Brian Austin elected to sell his Tamworth property and move to Kempsey on the mid north coast. Brian, who’d dabbled with a galloper or two previously was keen to take horse training a little more seriously. He felt that Kempsey, situated at the hub of a strong northern rivers racing circuit was the ideal place to establish stables.
Jarrod made the move with his family and at age 18 decided to take out a trainer’s licence. At this stage of his life he was a very capable rider and didn’t make a big impression on the scales. “I was able to ride most of the trackwork for Dad and myself which made life a lot easier,” he said. “To this day I still ride one or two horses every morning at Warwick Farm.”
Jarrod hasn’t forgotten the bay mare who “kick started “his training career. Her name was Konkaroo, and she won three of her first four starts for the young horseman. “Her wins were in places like Wauchope, Kempsey and Bowraville but for me it was like winning three races at Randwick,” said Jarrod.
In the mid 1990’s he made the move to Wyong where he enjoyed moderate success for a few years before deciding to take a complete break from racing. “I just got to the stage where I needed to try something else for a while,” said Jarrod. “I’d been around horses all my life and needed to see if there was another life out there.”
There was certainly another life out there, but Jarrod didn’t like it as much as a life with horses. “I managed a couple of pubs and worked in the building game for a while but the lure of the thoroughbred was always niggling at me,” he recalled.
Winners are grinners! Jarrod after a Warwick Farm win with Territory 08/03/2014 - one of Territory's 4 city wins - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Right on cue Denise McGrath came into Jarrod’s life. Denise had come across a few thoroughbreds during her casual involvement in the showjumping pursuit and quickly became besotted with the breed. She made a low key entry into racing as an owner, and it wasn’t long before thoughts of becoming a trainer dominated her thoughts.
Once established Denise and her husband acquired stables at Warwick Farm. At the same time they set up a property at The Oaks near Camden as a spelling and pre training complex. Denise began her search for a horseman who understood thoroughbreds and knew something about the racing industry.
Jarrod Austin got the job and was destined to spend six rewarding years at The Oaks. “It was the perfect way for me to get back into racing,” he said. “I enjoyed the experience and it was a delight to work for Denise who was as passionate about her horses as any trainer I’ve ever known.”
Jarrod was around at the time Denise trained the talented sprinter Keen Commander with whom she posted eight wins and thirteen placings for $645,000. Between her Warwick Farm base and the rural serenity of The Oaks, Denise was able to keep Keen Commander focused enough to win a listed Starlight Stakes, a listed Lightning Hcp and a Magic Millions Sprint. The gelding also went within half a head of snaring the 2008 Gr 1 Galaxy won by Typhoon Zed.
Denise McGrath’s departure from the Sydney training ranks in 2011 prompted a life changing decision in Jarrod Austin’s life. “When Denise told me she was vacating her Warwick Farm stables, I simply put into operation something that had been on my mind for some time,” said Jarrod. “It was time for me to go training again”.
Jarrod’s the first to admit that Denise McGrath’s faith in his ability was the catalyst to his successful return to training. Denise bequeathed him Yonderstar who was his very first runner on the comeback trail - a winner over 1800m on the Kenso track with Shaun Guymer in the saddle. Another “gift” from his former boss was Spinnawitch with whom Jarrod won a 1600m stakes race at Warwick Farm with Blake Shinn up.
Jarrod won a stakes race at Warwick Farm with Spinnawitch not long after taking over Denise McGrath's stables. Blake Shinn wins the Winter Challenge on Spinnawitch 28/07/2012 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Denise also handed over the promising Urquidez with whom Jarrod won a 2YO race at Warwick Farm before later posting seconds in The Rosebud and the Royal Sovereign Stakes. Urquidez was later sold to Hong Kong where he’s been able to win only one race under the name of Imperial Champion.
With a team rarely exceeding seventeen horses, Jarrod has maintained a healthy strike rate over the last seven years. Once he establishes the talent levels of horses coming through the stable, he simply takes them where they are most likely to earn prize money.
Horses to pay their way include Tresse D’Or, Austreet, Havelka, Carluca, Territory (4 city wins), Appetizing, Lady Kirkham, Raijinz, Hirokin, and the talented but problem prone Miss Antares. Hirokin (11 wins) is rising ten, but back in work and enjoying every minute of it. Carluca(8 wins) is a rising nine year old but not done with yet. “By the same token Carluca and Hirokin are in their final preparations,” said Jarrod. “They’ll be missed by everyone around the stables.”
Austin was one of the first Sydney trainers to recognize the burgeoning talents of Rachel King. The gifted English jockey had won two provincial races for Jarrod on Raijinz in late November 2016, and the trainer was anxious to run the gelding at a Canterbury night meeting.
Rachel at the time was apprenticed to Gai Waterhouse who was insistent that she couldn’t ride in town until her country claim evaporated. The jockey was both surprised and thrilled when Gai allowed her to take the ride on Raijinz. Rachel was stunned when Newcastle trainer Ben Smith also snapped up her services for his promising mare In Her Time in an earlier race. “I was a little miffed that In her Time raced before Raijinz which robbed me of the distinction of training Rachel’s first city winner,” said Jarrod.
Jarrod was one of the first trainers to recognize the talents of Rachel King. He supplied one of her first two winners in town - both on the same night. Here's Rachel winning on Raijinz Canterbury 25/11/2016 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Forty eight year old Austin is full of praise for his small but dedicated staff. “My foreman Kamal Singh is a real horse lover who does a great job behind the scenes,” he says. “My new apprentice, Swedish born Julia Presits had some success in the amateur ranks before turning professional recently. She cracked it for her first pro win last month on Gentleman Max at Albury. Julia’s going to be a great asset.
“Sarah Mitchell is a valued work rider, resident photographer and gifted jack of all trades around the place. I’m also very lucky to have the services of two great work riders in Steph Bushell and Natalie Wilkinson who help us get the team worked every morning. A special mention of Amanda Darvill who runs the office and is a key figure in our business.”
Like so many smaller trainers around Australia, Jarrod faces the age old problem of limited spending power at the yearling sales. “You can only do the best you can with what you’ve got,” he said philosophically. “We all dream of the day when a life changing horse might walk through the gate.”
Here is a trainer with a good outlook on racing and its many pitfalls. He’s totally driven by his love of the animal, and the delight he gets in trying to bring the best out of every horse in the barn.
No trainer can do better than that.
(Banner image - Inanup caught sight of the camera in the closing stages of Saturday's Iron Jack Hcp - courtesy Bradley Photographers)