Racing: Tears flow for Gentle Giant

Emotion flooded the enclosure when Gentle Giant, the horse named after the late Bruce McLachlan, won the inaugural running of the race named in his honour at Caloundra yesterday.

Bruce's son Jason wept openly and said Gentle Giant's win in the Bruce McLachlan Classic (1200m) meant more to him than the victory he shared with his father in preparing Phelan Ready to win the Golden Slipper.

"People ask me do I miss Dad and I tell them I miss him every day of my life," McLachlan said. "This means more to me than anything, and I mean that. It means more than the Golden Slipper and the Magic Millions put together."

Queensland's most successful trainer, Bruce McLachlan passed away on June 3 last year, three months after he notched a career highlight by preparing Phelan Ready to win the Golden Slipper in partnership with Jason.

In a career spanning 40 years, Bruce McLachlan won 16 Brisbane trainers' premierships and won Group One races with such topline gallopers as St Jude, With Me, Al Mansour and Virage De Fortune.

Adding to the emotion was the fact that Gentle Giant is raced in partnership by Bruce McLachlan's wife and two of his most loyal clients, Lenny Twidale and Vince Rao.

Rao said Gentle Giant, a son of Ferocity, was named after Bruce McLachlan because of his size and personality.

Bruce McLachlan's former stable jockey Eddie Wilkinson rode like a man inspired over the final 100m to drive Gentle Giant to a neck win over Igles Star who dead-heated for second with Jopa ) but was promoted to outright runner-up after a protest.

McLachlan said he set Gentle Giant for the race named in his father's honour three months ago and had never lost faith in the horse.

- AAP