Ace South Australian harness racing driver Wayne Hill is taking a philosophical approach to currently being on the sidelines.

“Physically and mentally the break is doing me the world of good because it’s usually full-on. I don’t get suspended a lot and although you want to take holidays, you never get around to it,” Hill said.

The 43-year-old suffered two fractures to his pelvis when unseated while driving Poppy Lane at Adelaide’s Globe Derby Park meeting on January 19.

“I’ve had a lot of falls over the years, but I guess I’ve been a bit lucky because this is the only time that I’ve been sidelined,” Hill said.

“The pain now isn’t too bad, but I’m still having trouble sleeping because I can’t roll onto my side,” he said.

“But at least I can stand up and sit down now – and I’m just about at the point of being able to walk without the crutches. I’ve been hobbling around but I reckon I could probably get by with just a walking stick now.”

Hill said he had an appointment yesterday with a sports doctor to review his progress.

“I got some good news from that visit – it should be only be a couple of weeks before I’m back.  At this stage I’m aiming to be back by the 20th of this month,” he said.

“Whenever it is, the break has certainly done me good. I’ve spent a lot of time sitting and watching the trots on television.

“Just the past week or so I’ve started to miss driving, particularly seeing the horses which I really love to drive go around.”

Hill, who started his driving career in 2000, has driven a total of 2448 winners for stakemoney of $9.8M.

“Last season was fantastic. I drove some lovely horses and won some really nice races, including the South Australian Cup (on Miki To Success (Always B Miki),” he said.

Hill describes the win on Miki To Success (Always B Miki) as his best moment in harness racing.  And it was his most succesful season with a total of 231 victories – the third consecutive time he’d surpassed the 200-win mark.  (Since 2015/16, Hill has got well over the ton each season).

The popular horseman had been helping out his trainer-driver wife Sam for two or three days a week prior to his racefall.

“I was also giving Aaron Bain a hand in the mornings. But I reckon I’ll get those jobs back when I’m right!”

by  Terry Gange for Harnesslink