Racing world mourns sudden death of ‘legendary' trainer Robbie Laing
Tributes poured in on Sunday after it emerged Laing had died in his sleep overnight.
The veteran, aged in his 60s, had fought back from bankruptcy and a ban to return to top competition in recent years.
'Thoughts to the extensive family and many friends of legendary horseman Robbie Laing on hearing his sudden passing,' journalist Bruce Clarke wrote.
Laing's El Soleado, ridden by Sheridan Clarke and carrying 64.5kg, finished second in the last race at Flemington on Saturday.
The horse was a winner at Bendigo in April last year — a spirit-boosting win for Laing, who watched from hospital with a leg injury — and has recently bounced back from throat surgery.
Laing famously trained Roman Arch, ridden by Craig Newitt, to an upset win in the 2006 Australian Cup at Flemington.
Seven years later Hugh Bowman rode Laing's $4000 yearlings purchase Polanski to victory in the 2013 Victoria Derby.
'My life in racing's been fantastic,' Laing said in a Channel 7 feature in early 2024.
'It's had its highs and lows. I don't like failure. Generally whatever I set myself to do, I've done it.
'As a kid I wanted to win the league's best and fairest and I did that. I wanted to be captain of the footy team and I did that.
'I became apprentice in 1974 at the age of 15. I think I rode OK but I got heavy very quick. At the age of 23 I trained my first Group 1 winner Perfect Bliss.
'The Group 1s for me are extra special.'
Former jockey turned trainer Gavin Bedggood described Laing as 'far from conventional but a man who was very good to me'.
'Gave me my first horse as a trainer, many winners as a rider and plenty of advice over the years. Was never given the credit he deserved as a trainer — always had a good two-year-old, handicapper and jumper. Rest easy,' he wrote.
Samuel Hyland said: 'Very sorry to hear of the passing of Robbie Laing, always loved riding for Laing. His horses were always tough and fit, he was a great character, an outstanding horseman as well as trainer, thoughts are with Eddie and Sylvia Laing and the Laing Family.'
Bryan Martin said: 'The saddest news with the passing overnight of Robbie Laing. Outstanding horseman and always good fun to be around. Amazing mind on pedigrees. Rob could train, young ones, top liners and the jumpers. Very sadly missed Robbie Laing. Prayers with his extended family.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
5 days ago
- 7NEWS
AFLW legend Erin Phillips shares heartbreaking details of wife Tracy's miscarriage days before 2022 preliminary final
AFLW great Erin Phillips has broken down while speaking about a 'devastating' family tragedy she went through just days before a preliminary final in 2022. The dual sports champion and star commentator, became emotional on Channel 7's Unfiltered while revealing her wife, Tracy, had a miscarriage during the pregnancy of their fourth child. Phillips was a superstar for Adelaide's powerhouse AFLW team that won grand finals in 2017, 2019, and, eventually, in Season 6 in 2022. Bu there were mixed emotions and complications in 2022, as Erin and Tracy went through another IVF journey after already having three other children. 'It took us two years before we had Blake and Brooklyn, and we had multiple unsuccessful pregnancies where we couldn't even get pregnant. We tried. We moved on to the IVF route, which is more expensive, obviously,' Phillips said. '(We were) maybe a bit more hopeful in the chances of becoming parents, and we end up getting five embryos. We tried for two, and we were just hopeful to just get one, and we won the lottery. We got two, we got Blake in Brooklyn. 'I thought, after all the sleepless nights and ... just how crazy life was, I thought maybe we'd be done at two, because looking after kids is a full-time job. 'And so we decided to have another one. So we go for three and then we had Drew straight away, no problem. And then we tried for number four, thinking that this is easy, like the hard part's done. 'We've had one, two and three. All the three embryos took. Why wouldn't number four take? And initially it did. 'And then three days before the prelim in 2022, three days before we played Fremantle in the prelim at Adelaide Oval, Tracy miscarriages ... 'And it was one of the most just ... devastating, hardest, awful moments to see your your wife, your partner, go through that. 'As her wife, there was nothing I could do to make it better. You just feel so helpless to see her go through that. 'We got to the obstetrician thinking it was a regular scan, (but the scan is) saying there's no heartbeat anymore. And it was like, it was a shock. It was like, we can't possibly be hearing that, surely not. 'We didn't talk about it with anybody. We didn't want to tell people what we were going through, because we didn't really want people to worry. 'I didn't want anyone to feel like that something was wrong, and I had a prelim, and I know that seems so irrelevant, a game, and it is in many respects, but it was also a big game that I wanted to find the energy and the willpower to go and perform and bring some joy into back into our lives. 'And and there was also this element of, you know, we were so lucky. We've already got three kids, you know. You know, we miscarried our fourth. Should we even be feeling like we were unlucky or should we even be grieving. 'There were so many emotions going on at the time when we won the grand final, it was like the final siren was the moment that I could actually just grieve. You know, I just, I just wanted to bring some joy back in that moment for Trace and what we just been through. 'And football seemed like such a small part of what we were going through, but we were able to celebrate and find some joy in that moment.' The couple would again try for child number four, and in 2023 Londyn Skye Phillips was born.
7NEWS
6 days ago
- 7NEWS
Essendon ‘frustrated' with situation surrounding young gun Nik Cox
Essendon are growing increasingly frustrated by the situation surrounding young gun Nik Cox, according to Channel 7's Caroline Wilson. Cox has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after facing the AFL's independent concussion panel in June following a series of head knocks over the past 12 months. But while he was initially given a clear return-to-play pathway, the panel won't reconvene until October at the earliest. It leaves the club and Cox unsure of his future until after the trade period. 'The situation now, and this is what's frustrating Essendon, is that the concussion committee cannot be convened for the purposes of assessing the future of Nick Cox until at the very, very earliest October and probably November,' Wilson reported on The Agenda Setters. 'Look, I don't know if it's bureaucracy. These are busy people. There's medical people involved. They have busy schedules. This is also a very costly exercise. Clubs have to pay for this, and it's not coming out of the soft cap. 'I'm not dissing the importance of the seriousness of concussion, but we're looking at $10,000 to actually go through this process. So I think that the footy department is becoming increasingly frustrated that the AFL can't intervene and speed this up. 'I think, if I'm blunt, I think Nick Cox is probably at the moment a 50-50 proposition to play again, and whether he chooses to play again with all the red flags he's had with concussions. 'But the club need to know, surely, before the trade period, they need to know for their list management what's going to happen. So this is an ongoing issue.' Wilson stressed that concussion is a very serious issue in the game. 'I think this is just one of the many bureaucratic problems that has come about through what is rightly a very serious issue and doing the right thing,' she added. Fellow panellist Luke Hodge said it's important to make the right call when it comes to Cox's future. 'It's also something that you wouldn't want to rush into,' he said. 'He might need a good four, six months to make sure he gets over the last concussion before they go and make a pretty serious call on his future.' Cox suffered a concussion in Round 22 last year before going down again in a training session before Christmas. Symptoms lingered throughout the pre-season, but he eventually returned to VFL level and played two games before he was sidelined again and placed in concussion protocols. He then faced the same independent panel that recommended he sit out the remainder of the season. Cox made an eye-catching start to his AFL career. Taken with pick No.8 in the 2020 draft, the 200cm utility excited the AFL world with his athleticism and mobility. He played 22 senior games in his debut season, but then only managed 11 in 2022 and 2023. Cox was a regular starter last year, managing 20 games until a concussion in Round 22 ended his season early.
7NEWS
6 days ago
- 7NEWS
AFL players brutally mocked over 93-day holiday break: ‘It is a joke'
AFL players — and the Sydney Swans in particular — are being ridiculed for the amount time off they are afforded over the off-season. Expert Channel 7 commentator Kane Cornes is perplexed by the amount time professional players have away from the club, and could not believe his ear when he heard Swans coach Dean Cox reveal his return-to-train dates for his players. After an underwhelming season cruelled by injury, Cox said the first-to-fourth-year players would be back on November 10 and senior players would fire up their pre-season on November 24. 'So, you know, for the younger players they'll get five weeks pre-Christmas,' Cox said. 'Throughout that, they'll be expected to come back extremely fit and in really good condition and ready to attack a full pre-season.' On Channel 7's The Agenda Setters on Monday night, AFL great Nick Riewoldt said 'AFL footy will remain a part-time job in 2026' with players being afforded such a generous vacation time. Cornes said it was a 'joke'. 'Their (Sydney's) last game is on August 23,' Cornes said on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters. 'Their senior players are back on November 24. 'That is a 93-day break for our AFL players and you are telling me these are full-time players. 'It is a joke and no wonder the skill level (is questionable and) injuries are high. It's for that reason. '(AFL players) get far too much time off (and) that's not including Christmas.' Cornes has been hot on the topic (of the amount time off players have) for many years, and believes AFL coaches do not get enough time to spend with their players ahead of the season proper. He also believes the extended time-off contributed to a spate of injuries that happened to senior players at the start of this year. 'It's been one of my biggest frustrations for a long time,' Cornes said on SEN earlier this year. 'I actually have been writing about this for seven years. 'Players get far too much time off and the lack of preparation is leading to this significant spate of injuries.' Cornes said back then the AFL Players' Association had 'far too much power in the game' and things needed to change. 'Who is going to stand up to them?,' he asked. 'If you're wondering why everyone is getting injured and why it's never been worse, this is why.' Annual leave for most Australians is a four-week period, while those who are required to work on public holidays typically receive a six-week break.
