But his apprentice, son Rhys, is right on his tail after a barnstorming start to the 2020-21 season.
Rhys has recorded four wins to Daryl’s one since August 1 with two of those coming with 10-year-old veteran Etna.
But Daryl is looking to make up for lost time in the last month of spring as he looks to build on last Monday’s win at Echuca with Javelina.
“Even though our horses might race against each other, Rhys and I aren’t overly competitive,” Daryl said.
“Growing up Rhys was always pretty keen on horses but his footy obviously kept him from being involved in the sport.
“We’re virtually the same stable even though we race under different names.
“Rhys treats my horses like his own and I do the same thing. We try and do everything we can to support each other.
“It’s been really pleasing to do really well so far this season and hopefully that continues.
“Racing is a really funny business where you experience a lot of ups and downs.”
The Archard family endured a strange start to the season when the NSW-Victoria border slammed shut on July 8 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It meant they could not travel into NSW where they have had varying degrees of success in the past.
Last season, the Archards recorded two wins and 10 minor placings from 36 starts across country NSW.
“We rely on being able to go into NSW with some of our horses,” Daryl said.
“Every season we will go to places including Corowa and Wagga Wagga because those tracks suit our horses.
“We’ve had to sell some of the horses up north because they didn’t have the quality to compete in some of the provisional races here in Victoria.
“Our goal is to always get the best out of the horses, and we’d like to think we’ve done that with most of our horses.”
The pair is based just next to Echuca Racing Club and Daryl said the family was lucky to have regular access to the track.
“The people at the club have always been good to us,” he said.
“No matter what is happening in the racing world, they’ll do their best to look after us and we really do appreciate it.”
Daryl said he and Rhys were expected to have just one runner each on Melbourne Cup Day at Echuca.
“I think we’re going to see some of the strongest racing at Echuca for the season,” Daryl said.
“It’s always a privilege to have horses running on Melbourne Cup Day because it is the day on the racing calendar.
“Because Echuca is the only regional meeting in Victoria, people are going to come from across the state.
“It will be great if we can have a couple of local winners on the day.”
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