Lang Lines Up Breeders Crowns

17 August 2008
Logo
Captain Joy provides Gavin Lang with yet another Breeders Crown success

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.

 

Related News

29 March 2024
Gibson family honoured in more ways than one at Bathurst Carnival
SINCE the inception of the Bathurst Gold Crown in 1987, the Gibson family and their Success Stud have positively contributed to shaping the hugely-successful juvenile carnival. Originally based in Queensland before relocating to the idyllic Young region, the late John Gibson initially operated Success...
29 March 2024
Group 1 mares add star power to Riverina Championships
Four Group 1 winning mares - including two currently considered to be among the nation’s best - will clash in an intriguing battle at the Riverina Championships finals program at Wagga on Sunday. The meeting features two $100,000 finals for four and five year-old pacers - one each for the boys...
29 March 2024
Ford looking for Gold on Good Friday
The combined harness and greyhound meeting on Good Friday night in Hobart is fast becoming a Tassie racing tradition, and it’s back again with eight greyhound races and six harness events making up this year’s 14-race program. Driver Dylan Ford will be out to continue his excellent start...
28 March 2024
New HRV chair Adam Kilgour on challenges, opportunities
Newly appointed Harness Racing Victoria chair Adam Kilgour says his passion for a challenge and the people in racing drives his desire to strengthen the industry. Kilgour was yesterday announced to replace Dale Monteith as the head of the board, on which he has served since 2018, and said he was eager...
28 March 2024
La sun of a gun emerges as Blackbook zeros in on breeding line
La Machane won 20 of her 61 starts and more than $330,000 for connections in Ross and Greg Sugars' care and the mare's making just as big an impression in the breeding barn. Having given us La Puddie ($137,179) and La Captain ($182,020), the Bettors Delight mare has another nice type in Benbullan, who...
Click for more