Bendigo's Lang night more than Just A Bit special

Every win’s a delight but there’s more than a little extra on the line for participants this Friday night, when they honour the Lang legacy as part of a special Bendigo meeting.

Held for the first time last year in honor of Victorian trots legends Graeme Lang and his son Gavin, who both sadly passed in 2020, the 10-race card is a wall-to-wall tribute to the pair and their stars of the track.

The Group 3 two-year-old trotting miles headline the card and carry the pair’s names, with reinswoman Kate Gath having great chances in each.

She told Trots Talk the pair still loomed large and it was great to have the opportunity to honour them.

“Graeme always had plenty of wise advice to give and he was one of the greats, and Gavin was so intimidating when you were younger, because he was Gavin Lang,” she said.

“It’s so noticeable without having Gavin around, even now, you just feel like it’s not quite the same without him there. He was just the greatest at what he did and he will never be forgotten.”

Gath enjoyed success this time last year when steering Aldebaran Ursula to victory in The Graeme Lang Aldebaran Park Trotting Mile for two-year-old fillies and will be expected to repeat the dose on Friday.

She’ll again take the reins of Just A Bit Touchy, who will have her first start since her Breeders Crown Group 1 success.

“I’m really lucky to drive her, she’s the best horse in it without a doubt,” Gath said.

“Over the short and from a second row draw doesn’t make it too cruisy, but she’s so talented and I just love her as a horse. She will be super hard to beat.”

The previous race Gath will steer More Wanted from gate two in The Gavin Lang Aldebaran Park 2YO Trotting Mile, which is for the colts and geldings.

The drive has all the more significance because she takes the reins for Chris Lang, son of Graeme and brother of Gavin. It’s one of two starters Lang has in the race, with Courage Stride also entered and looming as the most likely threat to Plymouth Chubb, who’s won 11 on the trot.

“It would be great if one of Chris’s runners could win that race,” Gath said. “More Wanted is getting better all the time, but he’s off Courage Stride and Plymouth Chubb a bit. He’s a really handy horse and I quite like him.

“He’s not quite up to them yet, but he’s not too far off them. He’ll have a handy career ahead of him.”

The great on-track racing will be complemented with plenty of family activities off the track, including the arrival of Santa, a petting zoo, magician, laser tag and a jumping castle.

For those who can’t be on track there will be terrific coverage at TrotsVision.com.au, with host Kirsten Graham to be joined by race caller Lachie McIntosh and expert commentator Paul Campbell.

HEAR FROM KATE GATH IN TODAY'S EDITION OF TROTS TALK: