Hotel Whisky One carries the hopes and dreams of his breeder and owner Mat Vincent in tonight’s Sportsbet Bendigo Cup final.

Vincent’s journey to date is an incredible one. He’s a Queenslander who has had some incredible experiences and now finds himself loving a sport he once hated.

“I was in the army jumping out of planes for a living and destroyed my back in a parachuting accident,” Vincent told myself and George Farrugia on RSN’s Grey Areas.

After he was discharged by the army, Vincent also went through a marriage breakdown and in his words… Some people turn to churches, I turned to the antis. 

He was firmly against the sport and attended events supporting the sport’s demise, before an experience with a local trainer turned his view around. So much so, he decided to get involved.

“I took it upon myself to get knowledge from the track where I met trainer Keith Raines who asked if I wanted to come and see how the dogs lived.”

“The stories the antis were going on about and the stories I was witnessing from Keith didn’t line up.” 

And there’s no shying away from his confidence going into tonight’s decider.

“Confidence levels are pretty high,” 

“If he can jump like he did two weeks ago and sit on the side of Aston Fantastic and do the exact same thing, I’m coming home with the Bendigo Cup.”

The Sportsbet Bendigo Cup is Race 9 on tonight’s card at 9.42pm, fastest heat winner Aston Fantastic is likely to jump favourite.

Catch extended coverage from Bendigo and Angle Park for Adelaide Cup night on Sky Racing Active with Nathan Rooney and myself.