He hasn't taken a day off in 12 years, but as Saab Hasan stretches the horses after morning track work he admits there is nowhere he'd rather be.
The sun-drenched stables of Flemington's famous Chiquita Lodge had once been the dream of a boy living in Cyprus, who'd never touched a real horse.
Raised by his grandfather, Hasan said he was always destined for the track.
"My Granddad brought me up during the war and he often asked me, 'what do you want to do in life?' My response back at the age of three was, 'teach them horses to run real fast, Granddad.'"
In 1976 his family fled to Australia, and as fate would have it he was granted government housing across the road from one of the nation's biggest horse racing venues.
Saab Hasan as a child in Cyprus Source: Supplied
"At a very young age I migrated to Australia and, strike me pink, I landed in Flemington, heart of the Melbourne Cup, so the story began," he said.
From a commission flat in Flemington he listened as Van Der Hum win the Melbourne Cup that year.
Ten years later, as a teenager, he went stable to stable in Flemington looking for work, but with no connections it was difficult.
"There was a bit of racism there," he said. "If you weren't an Australian and your father wasn't a horse trainer you were a nobody but it doesn't matter what people call you, you can't let them stop your dream."
He was rejected by everyone, until he met trainer Mick Cerchi.
The home of SH Racing Chiquita Lodge at Flemington Source: SBS
"I just picked up a pitch fork and started working, and when he came back he said, 'who are you?' and I said, 'I'm your new worker,' and he said, 'well, you're keen.' I just need an opportunity, and I owe him probably everything because he gave me that first chance."
Years later, Hasan began training his own horses, but became disheartened when after 12 months he was yet to record a win.
But he says it was advice from racing legend Bart Cummings, that put things into perspective.
"I spoke to Bart Cummings and he was a bit of a mentor as well and he said, 'what are you worried about? I've gone two years without training a winner', so he said 'you're only halfway there.'"
He didn't have to wait that long - his first win came just weeks later in Werribee, in Melbourne's south-west, with Flash Commander, a horse he'd rehabilitated from knee and fetlock injuries.
Now his next big ambition is posting a stayer in the race that stops a nation - the Melbourne Cup.
"It would repay my debt to Australia because it's given me a second chance in life."
And he's hoping mare All About Rhythm may just get him there. The five-year-old trained with hard work, passion and importantly, TLC.
All About Rhythm enjoying the sunshine Source: SBS
