Mark Zahra gets it. He's as balanced in the saddle as he is out of it.
Talk American football and you are away. OK, it's the Minnesota Vikings and perhaps they aren't doing as well on the NFL table as Zahra is doing on the track.
But it's his escape, and much of it with his great mate and Caulfield Cup rival Jamie Spencer, they've done the last two Super Bowls together, Zahra got that second suburban major over him, and with much of a fight on Saturday, and dribblers, dribbling about that nonsense whip business. Guilty, penalties played, move on. Correct weight, Zahra and Without A Fight wins.
Such big results bring the usual media things and requirements, Mrs Zahra, Elsye (aka ‘thecountselor' on Instagram) had already upstaged him on national TV with dreams revealed and chosen words perhaps not appropriately chosen for that audience. But what a dream she had. But more importantly – what one Mark delivered. Yes they "f…ing won"!
Zahra is living his own dream and is somewhat of a recurring headline story, but not one of his own making or desire to be such.
On socials he is ‘Djzoro27' and can be often snapped with ‘thecountserlor' or at Nobu, or on Saturday night, ready to devour a bottle of Ruinart champagne.
That's two Caulfield Cups now, 27 Group 1s, he's the defending Melbourne Cup champion, perhaps should have two but for that infamous ‘airbnb' suspension when he was booked for Verry Elleegant, but was drowning sorrows away at Byron Bay at the time James McDonald got that job done.
Not that Zahra dwells on the past. To be one of Australian racing's most wanted when it comes to the big stage is one thing, to marry that with life away from it with Californian Elyse and young daughter Harper matters as much.
Not surprisingly Zahra and Elyse met in a nightclub (Carbone), he was with fellow jockeys Mark Pegus and Matt Pumpa, they had their own table. There were suggestions the bouncers helped bring Elyse's party to the "short guys". But after more work than Gold Trip in a spring, and a trip to Mexico, Zahra had his girl.
She knew nothing of racing or what jockeys did, but is now Zahra's most enthusiastic fan.
Zahra knew little of racing other than his grandfather taking him to the Belmont or Ascot races in Perth as a kid, otherwise it was Swan Districts footy for the weekend.
The family had emigrated from Malta, talk of building a house, his grandfather had to build the bricks first to build the house where his father (John) and mum, Bernadette, raised Mark and his two siblings.
"It was a good grounding, they were hard workers and that's where I think I get it from," he said.
It was the $5 from Pop at the races which was Zahra's ‘ticket' to racing.
"You had to be 14 to be accepted at the time and it was an eight-week course at Northam, not like today," Zahra recalls.
"I was 36kg at the time but by the time I ended I had a growth spurt, and I was 47kg but I wanted to give it a crack and I left school.
"I enjoyed learning how to ride and basically there was never another option for me then."
Even chasing DVD's of French racing to hone his skills and craft were part of the Zahra formative years.
"I have no fear, sure weight has always been an issue (he ‘blows out' to 63kg in the off season), but you've got to put everything out of your mind, if anything happens, so be it, but I've learned to love what I do."
The family had established a milk business but his mother instilled the commercial drive into Mark's new career as an apprentice to small time trainer Dean White.
So much so she'd drive him to places like Dongara for a winner (it was Easter Monday), his second winner after Winrosy gave him a debut success at Geraldton in March 1999, after 19 previous unplaced efforts. Mind you it was an eager Zahra who chased the Dongara ride on Scorpio Vorn by ringing his trainer Neville Smith out of the blue.
"One thing I've learned is that you never take anything for granted, the minute you think you've made it, is the minute it can really hit you, I've never ever been comfortable," Zahra explains.
"Like getting off (Caulfield Guineas winner) Griff a couple of weeks ago, you can be back to square one in an instant so you have to keep at it and work hard."
Working hard is part of it, playing hard is the release, an annual holiday, normally in America, and Zahra plays travel agent.
"My end of season, I do the research, look for the restaurants, do all the bookings and send Elyse the itinerary, all she has to do is turn up."
The work itinerary is as far flung.
He's ridden around the world since then, Mauritius, Singapore, France, England, New Zealand, Japan and India.
India, yes India and you can blame former jockeys Aaron Spiteri, he of the acrobatic backflip and now Netflix style real estate agent in Minnesota of Minneapolis, America.
"I love a holiday, Spitter was a great mate, and got me into India and said how good it was, it was when you were winning – if you were losing they would throw coconuts or pineapples at you," Zahra said.
I reckon Troy Jackman hid in a cupboard or a bathroom after he got beaten on one, I think they might have called it a no-race but they never got their money back.
"It was mayhem the place, but I loved it or as much as you could, I think I went for 10 weeks, lasted six maybe," said Zahra, recalling such detail as if it were yesterday.
Travel, invitational meetings in Mauritius, brings new friendships, like Spencer, so knocking him off in the Caulfield Cup is merely short-term bragging rights, nothing more.
"We just have the same outlook on life, we holiday together, there's no bullshit talk, he calls it as he sees it, I like that," Zahra said.
"He's very astute, knows his form, knows his breeding, switched on to the business side of the game but we both love our NFL."
Which is why after Tofane won the Group 1 Orr Stakes at Caulfield last year, there was no time for post-race interviews or celebrations, Zahra was on a plane to America for the Rams-Bengals Superbowl showdown to meet Spencer.
They were there for the classic Patrick Mahones inspired Kansas City Chiefs win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Arizona this year. Mark them down for Nevada in the Las Vegas Valley in February next year – Usher is the booked half time entertainment by the way.
"The Americans do it well, the lead-up, the events, I've never been able to get there for the whole week, but that's the aim," he said.
And so his getting his Minnesota Vikings (a shabby two and four this season) into the Northern division playoffs at some stage soon and rectify their anomaly of the most conference championships appearances of a non-winning Super Bowl team.
In the meantime Zahra is focused on his own touchdown, The Caulfield Cup is planted on the shelf, now it's time for adding a first Cox Plate as he jumps back on Gold Trip. That would be legendary.
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