He broke a million hearts by beating a champion with a scintillating finish

Gurner's Lane was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1983 champion horse of the year. He is best remembered for winning the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups double in 1982. Gurner's Lane was just the seventh of 12 horses to complete this rare double and the first since Galilee in 1966. Without A Fight was the last horse to achieve this feat in 2023.

Foaled at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand, Gurner's Lane was sired by Sir Tristram (Sir Ivor). His dam was Taiona, who also produced the Group One 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 Sir Tristram, preceding the giant, Empire Rose (1988) and little Brew (2000), and was bred on the same cross as Empire Rose, as both were out of Sovereign Edition mares. The gelding was trained by Geoff Murphy out of his Caulfield stables. Murphy made his mark with wins in the Australian Cup in 1962 and 1963 with Welkin Prince. A win in the 1961 AJC Derby narrowly eluded him when his winning horse, Blue Era was disqualified because of jockey, Mel Schumacher's infamous ‘leg pulling' tactics.

Prior to winning the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, Gurner's Lane had won the VRC and AJC St Legers during the autumn of 1982, and had run third in the AJC Derby. Returning at four years, he won the Newcastle Gold Cup and was fourth in The Metropolitan. Ridden in the Caulfield Cup by Brent Thomson, at 53.5 kilograms, Gurner's Lane defeated Gala Mascot and Veloso. Mick Dittman rode Gurner's Lane in the Melbourne Cup, and boy, was it a fantastic ride. 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 WFA and, relative to the WFA scale, was the same weight as the older Kingston Town, who was the winner of an amazing 13 Group One races. Turning for home Kingston Town sprinted clear for his jockey, Malcolm Johnston, and appeared likely to win until Mick Dittman gained the split and pushed Gurner's Lane through one off the rails to bring "sadness to a million lovers of racing". The horse picked up at pace around the 200m mark as Dittman drove him home and burst through with a sustained late sprint. Johnston on Kingston Town received great criticism for going too early on the champion, seeing him tire over the final stretch, and losing by a neck. It was a remarkable effort for Gurner's Lane who was 8th last at the 800 metres, but from the half mile point the horse was always going forward. The great 1982 race call by Bill Collins will aways be remembered for the line,

"Gurner's Lane, he's coming home like a train"

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.

RACE RECORD - 41: 7-5-5

EARNINGS - $558,400

Group One

Caulfield Cup (1982)

Melbourne Cup (1982)

Group Two

VRC St Leger (1982)

AJC St Leger (1982)

Newcastle Gold Cup (1982)

Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year (1983)