Vincent is warming to the glow of Thursday night lights

By Pat McLeod

Self-proclaimed ‘little, backyard trainer’ Mat Vincent sat in his car at Albion Park last Thursday night as some of the biggest names in the sport descended on ‘headquarters’ for the rich 2024 Queensland Winter Greyhound Racing Carnival.

“I could see that I was in pretty big company and I am just a little, backyard trainer, so I went and sat in the car,” Vincent reflects on Group 1 Flying Amy Classic and Group 2 Cyndie’s Magic heats night.

“I had a sleep in the car and then went and had some dinner.”

A few hours later Vincent’s self-assessment may not have changed, but by then the ‘big names’ knew who he was.

The ex-military man’s one race dog, Hotel Whisky One, was through to a Group 1 Final.

“There were no tears at the track, but there were a few later,” Vincent said.

It was his biggest night in greyhound racing when Hotel Whisky One ran second to Anthony Azzopardi’s Tattooed in the last of six Flying Amy heats, gaining a Final berth.

“So, now we are in the Final of a Group 1 race. Nobody can ever take that away from us," Vincent said.

“I have always known that this dog has something. It was just a case of getting him to go. When the dogs crossed the line I was standing beside another local trainer, Travis Elson, and we looked at each other and he said to me, ‘You are in’.

“I didn’t think I was, but he was right. (The six heat winners and the fastest two second-placed dogs went through to the Final.)

“I could hear Johnny (Brasch) on the loudspeaker going off his tree about my dog’s run. It didn't really sink in until much later when the field for the Final was official.

“Before the race I knew that he was a chance of running a good race, but I didn't really think he would get through to the Final.”

Based at Warner, just north of Brisbane, Vincent has been a ‘hobby trainer’ for about seven years.

He has a greyhound heritage that traces back to his grandfather, Stan Vincent, who trained in the UK.

Vincent decided to take up the collar and lead in 2016, partly to assist with health issues, including a back injury and PTSD, which had plagued him since exiting the army in 2009.

Hotel Whisky One is from a home-bred Whiskey Riot and Flying September litter.

On Thursday night when Vincent returns to Albion Park there will be even more industry luminaries on show with three Group Finals to be contested – the Group 3 Dashing Corsair Final, the Group 2 Cyndie’s Magic Final and the Group 1 Flying Amy Classic, as well as two Brisbane Cup Preludes.

However, this time around Vincent is likely to feel a little more comfortable among the big names.

“When I walked out with the dog last Thursday it was a great feeling,” he said.

“Just to be there was great. There wasn’t a big crowd, but I just felt the atmosphere. It was fantastic.”

Vincent isn’t getting carried away with his chances in the $150,000-to-the-winner, age-restricted event, but knows he has ‘a battler’s chance’.

“I will go into this Thursday night with hope,” he says.

“He is just a little backyard-trained dog. He is the underdog and hopefully we will have plenty of people on board. It is all about the underdog and we all know that he can gallop. 

“He is not drawn ideally in the four box. I would have preferred six, seven or eight. But, he is the only dog in this Final that has gotten through from an outside box (box five). All the others were out of either box one or two in the heats.

“I think that gives us a little bit of hope. Once this dog gets some clear room, he has a very good stride on him.”

The greyhound racing high that Vincent is now experiencing has him in a positive frame of mind ahead of Thursday night. 

“Winning through to a Group 1 Final has certainly helped,” he said.

“I know that many trainers go through their entire career without experiencing what I will experience on Thursday night. It does feel good.”