Leading trainer Brent Lilley shared a great association with the late Gavin Lang, and he’s hoping to honour the champion reinsman with a winner during Bendigo’s all-trotting card on Wednesday night.
The Lang memorial meeting was created in 2020 to honour the lives and legacies of Gavin and his father Graeme, who gave so much to the harness racing industry.
Lilley’s connection with Gavin Lang stretches back more than two decades, and was sparked by a memorable moment on one of trotting’s biggest stages.
Gavin picked up the drive on Game Bid in the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Final of 2002, and he was victorious.
“I probably, up until that time, hadn’t had a lot to do with Gavin,” Lilley said.
“Obviously I knew his deeds, he was a champion driver. Anthony Butt drove Game Bid through the heats, and he had to drive his brother’s horse in the final (Take A Moment). So we called on Gavin and the relationship started from there.”
That drive was the beginning of a long and influential friendship, one that helped shape Lilley’s career.
Lilley, a former New Zealand-based trainer, credited his move to Australia to Lang’s encouragement.
“We shared many trips across the Tasman, backwards and forwards. He was instrumental in getting me to shift over, which was in 2010,” Lilley explained.
“I started off training at Gavin’s place with Adam Kelly and Clinton McSwain. There was a little crew there. He was the one who thought it would be a good idea for me to move over, so I brought a couple of horses and built it up from there.”
While trotting success became a theme of their partnership, it wasn’t limited to the squaregaiters.
“The Inter Dominion was the standout win I had with Gavin, and there were plenty of wins with him in the first few years after I shifted over,” Lilley recalled.
“But before I moved to Australia, he drove a heat of the pacing Inter Dominion in Auckland for me on Jagged Account. That was Gavin’s only driving win in New Zealand. After all the winners he drove in Australia, he only ever drove one in New Zealand and that one was for us.”
Fast forward to this week, and Lilley will arrive at Bendigo with a strong team of eight trotters.
“It would be a privilege to win a race on their night. Gavin and Graeme were icons of the sport,” he said.
“We had a close association with Gavin for a number of years. I am sure he and Graeme are sorely missed by everyone in the game here.”
While he knows it won’t be easy, Lilley has faith in his young talent.
“Both of the two-year-olds are nice, progressive horses. That’s Brother Mountain and Aldebaran Jazmine,” he said.
“There are some chances there, but no certainties. We will need a bit of luck on the night, but we have eight in so hopefully one of them can put their hand up.”
The Lang legacy continues through the family, with Gavin’s brother and Graeme’s son, Chris Lang Senior, set to contest the Scotch Notch 3YO Trotting Mile with I Am Wilma (barrier four). The same race also features Chris Lang Junior, who has Sassy Galleon (barrier five).
Every race on the Bendigo card will carry special meaning, with each named in celebration of the Lang family’s contribution to harness racing.
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Photography: Gary Wild
