Whiz kid Angus Garrard lands his 500th winner on our own warhorse Captain Nemo

He won’t be the best horse Angus Garrard ever drives but the Queensland whiz kid won’t ever forget his win behind Captain Nemo at Albion Park on Tuesday.

When the Lincoln Farms’ owned four-year-old led all the way to win his 11th race, he credited Garrard with his 500th driving success.

That’s a remarkable achievement for a 19-year-old who, when still at school at the age of 17 became the youngest driver in Queensland to rack up 100 winners in a season.

Trainer Mark Dux said his own thrill at scoring an overdue win with the horse was trumped by the sheer jubilation Garrard showed on returning to scale.

“Angus was very excited. He’s only a kid but he’s already driven quite a few winners for me.

Mark Dux … “Captain Nemo never does any more than he has to - he won’t ever win by five. You think you’re in trouble then you can feel him lift.”“Angus said he was never going to get beaten, even though the margin was less than two metres.

“Nemo wants to stay in front of them but he never does any more than he has to - he won’t ever win by five. He’s always been like that. You think you’re in trouble then you can feel him lift when they come at you - which is fine so long as it’s not too close to the post and he doesn’t see them in time.”

Yesterday, when Betterthandiamonds and Pete McMullen ranged alongside to exert pressure at the bell, Garrard said Captain Nemo was on a loose rein and he didn’t really know how he was travelling.

“But when he clicked him up at the half mile he knew he had plenty of horse.

“It was a good win in the end,” said Dux of Captain Nemo who rated 1:53.4 for the 1660 metres and paid overs at $14.

Captain Nemo’s form line might not look the best but Dux reiterated his only bad run this time in was when it was later discovered he was sick.

“When he’s on his game he never runs badly. What you see is what you get with him.

“He just hasn’t been getting the best of trips but you couldn’t have asked for a better trip yesterday.

Accomplished golfer Gareth Paddison makes friends with Captain Nemo, in whom he was gifted a share by Lincoln Farms’ owner John Street after finishing second in the 2020 Wairakei Invitational.“We didn’t expect him to lead but the others didn’t charge out like we thought they would. He came off the gate himself and got there without being asked to do too much.”

The Captaintreacherous - Arden Caviar gelding, bred by John and Katrina Price, will have his next start at Albion Park on Friday week, with the usual Saturday night programme shifting to a day meeting.

“He beat some pretty decent horses yesterday, the two favourites were band one and band two horses. Next week he drops back a bit to a band five race and I’m sure he’ll acquit himself well.”

Captain Nemo’s record now stands at 11 wins and 13 placings from 60 starts for prizemoney of $54,922 in New Zealand and another A$44,093 in Australia, taking the total to more than $100,000 for Lincoln Farms’ John and Lynne Street, Gareth Paddison, the Green Machine Syndicate, Grant Dickey and Ian Middleton.