Gurner's Lane (1978−2000) was a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

who was the 1983

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

. He is best remembered for winning the Caulfield and

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

s double in 1982. Gurner's Lane was just the seventh of 11 horses to complete this rare double. Foaled in New Zealand, and trained by Geoff Murphy, Gurner's Lane was sired by

Sir Tristram Sir Tristram (7 April 1971 – 21 May 1997) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who stood at stud in New Zealand, where he sired an extraordinary 45 Group One winners, including three Melbourne Cup winners. His progeny earned him 17 off ...

. His dam was Taiona, who also produced the

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

winners Sovereign Red and Trichelle (both full siblings), and was named New Zealand Broodmare of the Year in 1981 and 1983. Gurner's Lane was the first of three Melbourne Cup winners by

, preceding

Empire Rose Empire Rose (1982–2002) was one of the most popular Thoroughbred mares to race in New Zealand and Australia. She was a gigantic chestnut, only just fitting into the barrier stalls in Melbourne. Trained by Laurie Laxon, one of New Zealand's fo ...

(1988) and

Brew Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW, also known as Brew MP or Qualcomm BREW) is an obsolete application development platform created by Qualcomm, originally for code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile phones, featuring third-party a ...

(2000), and was bred on the same cross as Empire Rose, as both were out of Sovereign Edition mares.

Racing career

Prior to winning the

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under Handicap (horse racing), handicap conditions. This is for all horses aged three years old and older. It takes place over a distance of 2400 met ...

and

, Gurner's Lane had won the VRC and AJC St Legers during the autumn of 1982, and had run third in the

AJC Derby The Australian Derby is an Australian Turf Club Group One, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights held at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in April, during the Autumn Australian Turf Club, ATC Championships Carniv ...

. Returning at four years, he won the

Newcastle Gold Cup The Newcastle Gold Cup is a Newcastle Jockey Club Group 3 Australian Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 2300 metres, held at Broadmeadow Racecourse in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia in September. Total prize money for ...

and was fourth in The Metropolitan. Ridden in the

Brent Thomson Brent Thomson (born 1958 in Wanganui) is a New Zealand jockey, who is best known for winning the Cox Plate on four occasions and his association with the champion horse Dulcify. The son of a leading trainer Kevin Thomson, Brent became the c ...

, at 53.5 kilograms, Gurner's Lane defeated Gala Mascot and Veloso. Mick Dittman rode Gurner's Lane in the

. He was penalised two-and-a-half kilograms for the Caulfield Cup victory, which took his Melbourne Cup weight to 56 kilograms. For a four-year-old gelding this was just one kilogram below

weight-for-age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rou ...

and, relative to the weight-for-age scale, was the same weight as the older Kingston Town which was a winner of 13 Group One races. Turning for home Kingston Town sprinted clear for his jockey, Malcolm Johnston, and appeared likely to win until Mick Dittman brought Gurner's Lane through on the rails to bring "sadness to a million lovers of racing". In the early part of 1983, Gurner's Lane broke down but had done enough to be named Australia's champion racehorse. After a lengthy break, he returned to the track but failed to recapture his best form and was retired.

References

{{Reflist 1978 racehorse births 2000 racehorse deaths Caulfield Cup winners Melbourne Cup winners Racehorses bred in New Zealand Racehorses trained in Australia Thoroughbred family 7-d

Racing career

See also

References