would like to recognise the late Bruce McLachlan, a true Queensland and Australian horseracing
legend. Bruce sadly passed away on Tuesday aged 67. He is survived by his wife, Lorraine, and sons,
Ian, Grant and Jason.
Bruce was born a battler. The son of a hardworking shearer, he rose from very humble
beginnings. It was during his time as a police officer in Mount Isa that he caught not only the bug for
training but also his wife, Lorraine. Following his time in Mount Isa he moved with Lorraine to Cribb
Island, which was later reclaimed for the Brisbane Airport. It was at Cribb Island where he showed his
true Queensland battler qualities, hand building his stables and establishing his training operations.
After Cribb Island he moved to Ipswich and then Eagle Farm before building a private training
complex, Thornhill Park at Caboolture. In 2004 he moved to Caloundra and set up McLachlan Place,
opposite Corbould Park racecourse.
Bruce is recognised as one of the first modern trainers in Queensland with a large string of horses
and some of Australia’s biggest businessmen as owners. He was not pretentious. He was as at home
rubbing shoulders with Australia’s richest as he was enjoying a beer and a pie or two with punters at the
track.
He raced horses at all the major racing carnivals, having satellite stables in both Melbourne and
Sydney at various times. His hard word and dedication resulted in significant track success, having only
this year trained the Golden Slipper and Magic Millions winner in Phelan Ready. His other group 1
winners include: Planet Ruler, With Me, St Jude, Chortle, Sublimate, Picaday, Al Mansour and Virage de
Fortune. He trained three Magic Millions winners: Phelan Ready, St Jude and Our Fiction.
His racing acumen does not end there. He won 16 Brisbane trainers’ premierships, the first in
1978-79, and he trained more than 3,000 winners. He was an inaugural member of the Queensland
Racing Hall of Fame and has been nominated for the Australian Hall of Fame. However, his proudest
racing moments came most recently when he established a very successful racing partnership with his
son Jason.
I am sure everyone here today will join me in sending our thoughts and best wishes to Bruce’s
family—his wife, Lorraine, and sons, Ian, Grant and Jason. Certainly the big man of Queensland and
Australian racing will be sadly missed.
