Trainer David Vandyke reveals sobriety the key to his success ahead of 2025 Queensland Oaks bid with Philia
At first glance, David Vandyke's post-race celebrations if he wins the Queensland Oaks might not look too dissimilar from other trainers enjoying the afterglow of a momentous Group 1 triumph.
You might perhaps spy Vandyke drinking a frothy amber liquid as he raises a glass with connections.
Or he might even be sipping another beverage that, at a cursory look, could be mistaken for a gin and tonic.
But that will be his favourite drink of sparkling water 'with a bit of lemon or lime in it' … or a zero alcohol beer.
It's been the same for 26 years, since the last time the trainer touched the demon drink.
Sobriety sits well with him.
Vandyke was once a grog monster and addicted to hard drugs. He slept in his car for a period and even considered ending it all.
That was in Sydney in the 1990s but there is a new Vandyke today – and his move to the Sunshine Coast nine years ago has been a godsend.
The last thing Vandyke wants to be is complacent as, despite being clean for a long time, he knows that remaining sober is always a work in progress.
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'I've got to be a bit careful giving myself a pat on the back,' Vandyke said.
'If I focus on what I have achieved, it can give me a false sense of where I am going.
'I will talk to anyone about it, it's part of being a recovering addict that we just share where we are at.
'I have been pretty safe with the work I have done to remain sober.
'Sobriety is the key to everything I do.
'My program of recovery and being sober unlocks everything else, everything seems to flow from there … relationships, work, life, fast horses.
'I wake up most days and just think 'Gee, I'm glad I didn't have a drink yesterday'.
Vandyke, who can burst back into the Group 1 spotlight if favourite and winning machine Philia scores the Queensland Oaks at Eagle Farm on Saturday, has a mentor to help ensure he never has a destructive addition spiral again.
Philia dominates Race 7 at Eagle Farm for @vandykeracing13! @KPMcEvoy pic.twitter.com/gcGQcczHhc
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 26, 2025
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As important as his work is training horses – it is what puts money on the table – he also tries to guide other recovering addicts out of dark places.
'Part of the recovery process is sharing what we have gained and drawing a path for those recovering behind us,' Vandyke said.
'I often have people (recovering addicts) talking to me about where they are at.
'That might be phone conversations, or people coming and seeing me.
'I am a mentor and I have got mentors myself.
'I have people that I talk to and I have people who talk to me.
'If I wasn't training horses, I would like to think I would be doing the same thing.
'I have to do recovery work on a daily basis. The broad term involves being in communication with other recovering addicts.
'It's about living my best life and physical training is also part of that.
'If I let myself slide back physically or mentally, then there could be problems.
'I am healthy and well. I wouldn't move from where I am on the Sunshine Coast, it's a great spot to be.'
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Regular gym and swimming sessions are an important part of Vandyke's life and the trainer says he has never really been tempted by the grog since he gave it up and turned his life around.
While beers often flow freely in the winners rooms of racecourses, there are other ways to enjoy a win on the track.
'I am happy to go and have a drink, but without alcohol,' Vandyke said.
'I will have a zero alcohol beer or a sparkling water with a bit of lemon or lime in it, that's probably my chosen drink.
'I had my last drink when I was 33. I am 59 now.
'When one of my mates is having a red wine, I might like to have a look at the bottle, but I won't have a drink of it.
'I moved up to Queensland because of the lifestyle more so than the work, I just felt I wasn't in the right place in Sydney.
'I moved up here and met my people, so to speak.'
Racing has provided plenty of natural highs for Vandyke since he moved to Queensland including a Group 1 Oaks win with Gypsy Goddess (2022) and Alligator Blood 's famous Group 1 Australian Guineas triumph in 2020.
But you sense sobriety is his greatest achievement – more so than his four career Group 1s or the many millions of dollars in prizemoney his horses have won.
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Winning machine Philia has Vandyke's name back up in lights
Philia is the star filly who has helped David Vandyke snap out of a rut of a long drought without a Stakes winner.
While the four-time Group 1 winning horseman loves working on the Sunshine Coast, he says his training business needed to be in better shape.
After winning the 2022 Group 1 Queensland Oaks with Gypsy Goddess, feature races winners dried up.
Philia, who has won four in a row as she has stamped her credentials as the Group 1 Queensland Oaks favourite, is helping haul Vandyke back to where he wants to be.
'It's hard making money as a trainer in Queensland, it's not easy,' Vandyke says.
'I'm not really where I want to be business-wise, it's going to take a good horse or two and potentially some luck and some (horse) sales overseas to really get myself in the sort of shape I'd like to be.
'Before Philia won the Princess Stakes, I hadn't won a stakes race for a long while.
'I had a tough sort of time.
'Gypsy Goddess and Weona Smartone and a few other good horses left my stable at the same time.
'Now, it's just nice to be back competing at the highest level and it would be just great to win another Group 1.'
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Philia is a winning machine but now the frontrunning filly must step up in class and also conquer the extra 200m of the Oaks after scoring The Roses over 2000m at Doomben last start.
Vandyke admitted the 2200m of the Oaks at the bigger Eagle Farm track was a question mark.
But winners just win.
'She has gone from a maiden race to a Group 2 so far this campaign and been undefeated and that says a lot,' Vandyke said.
'There are a lot of horses who have finished behind her in this preparation.
'And none finished in front of her.
'Every run she has improved.
'That's exciting because if she has improved from The Roses, well, the Oaks is a similar field and she will be hard to beat again.
'The question mark is probably the step up in distance, especially at Eagle Farm compared to Doomben.
'That is a question that is going to be answered on Saturday.'
. @KPMcEvoy guides Philia to victory in The Roses for @vandykeracing13! pic.twitter.com/Y24NJjvqxC
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 24, 2025
Vandyke said he wasn't sure what Philia's pet distance would be as her exciting career progressed.
But he felt she was developing into something special.
He said her best attribute was her racing pattern which took luck out of the equation.
'I'm not really sure where she sits in regard to the distance she wants to run,' Vandyke said.
'That's something she will answer us in time.
'With the way she races, it's just nice going to the races knowing that whatever the opposition do, she will be comfortable with it.'
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