Episode 479: Jarrod Austin

In the late 1990’s Jarrod Austin walked away from racing to investigate what other career options were available in the world. He tried the hotel industry and dabbled in the building trade, but soon realised there was one key component missing. He’d been around horses all his life, and found he simply couldn’t break the bond. The story of his path back into the racing industry makes for a good podcast. We pinned Jarrod down recently and got him reminiscing about a horsey life that began on his father’s little Tamworth stud farm. The Warwick Farm trainer gives his assurance he won’t be leaving the industry again. Jarrod explains his team currently numbers 22 horses but says  two or three more would  be more than welcome in his Bull St stables at Warwick Farm. He pays tribute to his dedicated stable staff of seven. Jarrod explains why he recently made the decision to quit riding trackwork. The trainer talks at length about his stable star Terra Mater, one of the Inglis Digital “finds” of the past year. Purchased by stable client Gary Carden from a Widden Stud weanling dispersal for a mere $1750, Terra Mater has already banked $366,000 from six wins and six placings. The story is a fascinating one. Jarrod takes us through her racing career from her very first start at Wyong when she ran into a maiden who’s currently sitting on $640,000 in prize  money. She ran into some hot opposition before she finally cracked it for a win. The trainer looks back on his decision to walk away from racing in the mid 1990’s. He soon regretted that call. He was working as a concreter near Camden when he heard that a manager’s job was coming up at a nearby spelling and pre-training farm. He got the job and it was the perfect transition back into training. Jarrod talks of his happy six years at the property owned by trainer Denise McGrath. He helped in the preparation of several McGrath horses including the talented Keen Commander, who missed out narrowly in the 2008 Galaxy. He looks back on Denise McGrath’s decision to leave the training ranks giving him the opportunity to take over the Warwick Farm stables. Jarrod says he was able to get away to a flying start with three horses entrusted to his care by the retiring trainer. He actually won with his very first starter on the comeback trail. He acknowledges the talents of four time city winner Territory. Jarrod talks about a couple of veteran geldings he was able to keep going seemingly past their “use by” date. They just kept winning. Jarrod talks about his discovery of Rachel King in the days when the English girl was apprenticed to Gai Waterhouse. He was keen  to provide her first city winner but was beaten to the punch by another trainer. Austin looks back on Inanup who was a work in progress from the day he walked into the stable. He finished up winning eight races including five in town, largely due to the patience and skill of his trainer. You can hear the admiration in Jarrod’s voice as he pays tribute to recently retired Looks Like Elvis. He slipped the gelding to Victoria on two occasions and got the money both times. Jarrod pays tribute to a couple of his favourite “go-to” jockeys. The trainer gives encouraging pointers to a couple of promising horses currently coming through the grades. Jarrod Austin is one of many talented trainers who simply does his best with what he’s got. His best is of a very high level. Great to have him on our podcast.