The Cranbourne Harness Racing Club paid homage to the late Gordon Lockman at its meeting last Sunday (18/1) with the running of the annual Gordon Lockman Memorial over 2080 metres, taken out by local trainer Jayne Davies’ four-year-old Rock N Roll Heaven–Somedreamsomewhere gelding Rolinginthedeep.
Gordon was a highly respected member of the harness racing community, holding the position of President of the Harness Racing Media Association until his passing.
He was also Secretary-Manager of Cranbourne some years earlier, overseeing races such as the Cranbourne Chervonet and Humbletonian, both of which he instigated.
He also played a key role in the Cranbourne Pacing Cup in 1980, when the great Paleface Adios, driven by Colin Pike and making his final race appearance, was successful in front of a record crowd. Melbourne’s three television stations, Channels 7, 9 and 10, all sent their sports reporters to the track by helicopter to cover the event.
Following the race, the presentation area was flooded with patrons who had made the trip just to see the Temora Terror in action.
Back to Sunday, Rolinginthedeep, raced by Noel Alexander and Kevin Morgan, who was part of the large syndicate that bred him, scored a gutsy victory.
Trapped wide from gate four as Colorado Girl, from gate two, led for Chris Alford, ace reinsman James Herbertson sent Rolinginthedeep forward in an attempt to cross the leader with around 1600 metres to travel. The move proved fruitless, leaving him exposed for the remainder of the journey.
Surging to the front on the final bend, Rolinginthedeep raced clear to score unextended by 12.4 metres over Love A Belle, who finished along the sprint lane from three pegs, to give Cranbourne the quinella. Quick Crunch also used the sprint lane from five back along the markers to finish third, a half-head away. The mile rate was 1:59.3.
