Captain Joy provides Gavin Lang with yet another Breeders Crown success
An eventful Australasian Breeders Crown 2YO Colts and Geldings Final saw Gavin Lang further etch his name into the annals of Australian harness racing history.
The champion Melton reinsman joined Chris Alford as the most successful driver in the 11 years of the Breeders Crown when he teamed with the Susan Hunter-trained Captain Joy to win the $301,000 Group 1 final.
It was the third Breeders Crown success of the day for the only Australian reinsman to have driven 4000 career winners and his fifth title overall.
It also took to 10 the number of Group 1 races Lang has won so far this season.
Along with the SEW-Eurodrive Victoria Cup on Robin Hood he has also won the Victoria and Australian Oaks on Kept For Pleasure, the Victoria Derby on Tanabi Bromac, a Vicbred final on Shez Ryleymak (Vicbred) and an APG crown with Bus To Harland.
Lang thanked Captain Joy for enhancing his Breeders Crown record. Despite starting from inside the back row, the gelding was racing outside early leader and $2.30 favourite Living On Fire within a lap.
“He’s only a little guy, but he’s got a very big heart,” Lang said of the son of Mach Three, who has now won six of his 10 starts.
“The strongest part of his race last week was his last 50 metres and we didn’t want to die wondering, so if the opportunity arose to get around and sit outside the leader we were going to take it and that’s the way it worked out.”
Captain Joy’s 1:59.2 win at $3.50 over Garnet River and Ghadasbest was the end result of possibly the most amazing of all Breeders Crown finals.
The first shock came at the 800-metre mark when Living On Fire inexplicably started to struggle and dropped back through the field.
But that was nothing compared to the fall that marred the race 300m from home.
Tasmanian star Cody Maverick fell when he was surging into the race, resulting in an incident that saw the drivers of Franco Newsman, We Dare To Dream and Royal Surprise all tipped out of the cart.