Garud At Best

Garud had been so strong when resuming with a Flemington third that it was no surprise to see him take out Sunday’s Woodford Cup in dominant fashion.

Jumping fast from his inside gate, Garud was the early leader before taking a sit third on the rails. Getting clear into the straight, the talented seven-year-old quickly got clear – hitting the lead with 200m to go and racing away to salute by a soft 1½ lengths.

It had been just over two years since Garud’s last victory but that’s not to say that the imported gelding had not been racing well – the bay always competitive in city class and running a number of cheeky races in black type company.

Stakes placed on two occasions, Garud is even better over longer trips than Sunday’s 1700m and we look forward to stepping up in distance as his campaign progresses.

It is not surprising that Garud likes a bit of ground, the son of High Chaparral bred on a 3 X 3 cross of stamina influence Darshaan.

One of six winners produced by his dam Global Pearl who raced in Italy, Garud was bred in by Azienda Agricola Rosati Colarieti who also bred the outstanding globe-trotter Rakti.

Garud’s dam is a half-sister to the German Group winners Global Dream and Global Thrill from the family of the multiple Group One winners Fame And Glory and Farhh.