Angus Garrard is the Ultimate Driver

By Ken Warren

Young gun Angus Garrard has thrilled the local crowd with a hometown win in the inaugural Ladbrokes Ultimate Driver Championship at Albion Park.

Representing the SEN, Garrards and 1Equine slot, the 21 year-old used all of his skill and local knowledge to beat some of the best drivers in the world and win the competition, held over two big nights at the Brisbane track.

Garrard led the 10-driver field after night one and maintained his advantage at Saturday’s deciding meeting, sealing victory by steering home Betting Jewel in the final race of the championship to follow an earlier win with Dele Row.

He secured the $100,000 first-place prizemoney for the slot holders but had to withstand a late challenge from Western Australian star Gary Hall Jr, who made the championship interesting by winning the eighth race on night two with Bonnies Dance.

That took him to within nine points of the leader with two races to go but Garrad’s second in that race with Rylee Rhayne Bow kept him in front and his final-race victory saw him win the title with 180 points.

Hall Jr was second with 155 points while Pete McMullen made it an all-Australian podium, finishing third on 146 points.

Two of the big-name internationals Dexter Dunn and Bjorn Goop rounded out the top five.

Garrard described his title win as a “massive thrill” as he returned to the enclosure after the last race.

“I was pretty excited halfway up the lane,” he said of that final event, knowing he had the championship in the bag.

“It was hard to contain the emotion to be honest.”

Garrard admitted to some stressful moments as his rivals closed the gap in the middle of the program but kept his cool and delivered against some of his biggest idols in the sport.

“You don’t say it can’t happen, but it’s hard to say it will happen.

“To have such a good night last night and come out and be able to back it up tonight, I couldn’t be any happier.

He was also full gratitude for the slot holders who put their faith in him.

“I can’t thank everyone involved enough,” he said.

“It’s hard to sit down and say you’re going to give a 21-year-old like me a shot at something like this but I’m just so appreciative and so lucky.”

The Ladbrokes Ultimate Driver was a unique concept featuring 10 of the world’s best drivers, each representing a different slot holder who chose the horses to represent them over the two nights in a draft earlier in the week.

The event carried over $250,000 in prizemoney and featured drivers from Canada, Sweden, New Zealand and multiple Australian states.