Living with the fallout of a broken back, plus injuries from his rugby career, Allan Vincent found strength in his renewed faith… in horse racing.
That renewal – after Allan and his wife Kim drifted away from the industry about 20 years ago – came via John Hyam and an unremarkable SA racehorse called Bad Habits.
Formerly an owner, Queensland-based Allan was inspired to reconnect after a chance encounter with ex-racecaller Steve Hawkins at a golf event.
“I got a hole-in-one on a par four and Steve, who was running the event for Ladbrokes, said he was going to give me $2000 for doing it,” Allan said.
“We were having a chat after that and I told him about why I wasn’t involved in horses anymore.
“Steve said he knew a trainer in South Australia who loves animals more than anyone he’s seen.
“So we spoke to John and decided to get involved in this horse…”
Bad Habits eventually raced nine times and registered just two placings, amassing $6845 in prizemoney. Despite injury forcing the horse into early retirement, Allan said he and his wife were unable to fault Hyam’s service and priorities.
“We had high hopes for our horse, who showed a lot of promise, but unfortunately we had something go wrong,” Allan said.
“But whenever we saw the videos of Bad Habits we could see how happy the horse was and that affection that John put into his stable and his horses just reinvigorated our love for racing.
“People like him deserve credit for what they do. They’re the true backbone of the racing industry and we don’t hear enough about them.
“When you talk to John, you know what his main concern is.
“He’ll tell the owners that as well. He’ll say ‘My number one concern is the welfare of the animal. If I’m looking after the animal I’m looking after you’.
“When he thought the horse was struggling a bit he said he’d never put the horse in a race if he thought it was struggling. He would say ‘I’m going to put the horse in a paddock because he needs to be happy’.”
Despite Bad Habits never saluting the judge first, Allan and his wife have already become involved in another horse with Hyam.
Allan says Bad Habits and now Gilhanina have helped him deal with injuries suffered during his sporting career.
“I broke my back, I have two fractures in my spine, I have the most severe nerve damage you can imagine and some days I struggle to get out of bed,” Allan said.
“But Bad Habits was an amazing lift, as was being involved with John.
“These horses gives us something to look forward to.”
Allan applauded the efforts of Racing SA to ensure thoroughbred welfare was a priority.
“Racing SA is doing a great job with prizemoney and other things,” Allan said.
“But you guys have put animal welfare first with Thorough Care SA, which is great.”
