Star jockey Nick Hall finds inner peace away from the track in his quest to be the best on course

NICK Hall is the tattooed, yoga-practising jockey who recently started playing the guitar as he seeks “constructive distractions” to keep him sharp in the saddle. SEE HIS TATTS

Jockey Nick Hall says practising yoga gives him balance in a demanding workplace. Picture: Michael Klein

NICK Hall is the tattooed, yoga-practising jockey who has recently started playing the guitar.

He calls them “constructive distractions” aimed at helping him return to his 2013 Caulfield Cup-winning form.

“It’s really important to have outside interests,” Hall said.

“They help with the feeling of being in a pressure cooker (horse racing) … and finding a bit of clarity, having everything else handled, so race day you can be solely in the moment on the horses.”

Hall found yoga by accident, trying to impress a girl, but it grew to become an almost daily ritual.

They help with the feeling of being in a pressure cooker (horse racing) … and finding a bit of clarity, having everything else handled, so race day you can be solely in the moment on the horses.

- Nick Hall

It cleared his mind, sharpened his focus and unlocked his spirituality.

“I’m definitely more in tune with that (spirituality) and that’s an ongoing thing, and something that grows all the time,” Hall said.

“Sometimes with outside distractions in the world you can lose touch with that spiritual stuff.”

A winner of eight Group 1s and son of champion hoop Greg, Hall relies on instinct as much as he does horsemanship to pilot winners.

Away from racing, he “throws” meditation sessions every night and sometimes in the morning.

“Tell an athlete to walk over hot coals and they’ll do it, tell an athlete to sit still for half an hour and 90 per cent will find it very hard,” Hall said.

Nick Hall says yoga enables him to remain in peak physical condition for the rigours of race riding. Picture: Michael Klein

“It’s just about lying down and really keeping the present of mind, trying not to drift off, think about other things or fall asleep.”

I’m definitely more in tune with that (spirituality) and that’s an ongoing thing, and something that grows all the time. Sometimes with outside distractions in the world you can lose touch with that spiritual stuff.

His extraordinary tattoos, mostly done by Richmond-based artist Matt Collins, include a portrayal of Hindu god Mahākāla on his chest, the female Buddha Tara on his back, and an excerpt from Rudyard Kipling’s poem If that hung on his bedroom wall as a child.

“I just made my own path with it … as soon as you get one you just want more of them, I’ll finish the back up and that will be me,” he said.

“I feel really in control of my body, just my world in general, a lot of the time you just feel like a leaf in the wind, but obviously that just comes with experience.”

Hall tasted success early in his career, taking the Victorian apprentice title in 2008/09 with 109 winners.

Nick Hall says his meditation sessions every night and sometimes in the morning have enabled him to sharpen his focus at the track. Picture: Michael Klein

He won the 2013 Caulfield Cup on Fawkner — a grey gelding owned by his godfather and leviathan racing identity Lloyd Williams — before injuries and external pressures started to take a toll.

“I didn’t know how good and how hard it is to win big races,” Hall said.

Nick Hall’s tattoos have been mostly done by Richmond-based artist Matt Collins, including this amazing portrayal of Hindu god Mahākāla. Picture: Michael Klein

As he returns from a 10-meeting suspension on Wednesday, the 29-year-old hoop is hopeful of finding Cups and Cox Plate rides this spring.

He is back riding at his minimum weight and spends a lot of time riding for prolific trainer Ciaron Maher.

Nick Hall goes through one of his routines at One Hot Yoga in South Yarra. Picture: Michael Klein

“He’s always been a talented rider but he’s definitely putting in,” Maher said.

“He’s got that natural instinct, nothing really worries him … he’s a big game player.”

Hall returned to the saddle earlier in the year after missing almost 12 months with complications following wrist surgery.

Top of his game: Nick Hall wins 2013 Caulfield Cup on Fawkner. Picture: Nicole Garmston

“I did a lot of travelling, a lot of eating food and stuff you can’t normally do as jockeys, so I was in a happy place, but I think the time off really brought back the desire and the focus and determination,” he said.

His preparation is meticulous: diet, massage, stretching, the list goes on.

“I think if you take care of all those things it seems to always fall into place,” Hall said.

“It’s go, go, go, go, go (in racing) from an early age; it becomes habitual to be on all the time.

“If you can just bring your adrenals down, and bring it all back a notch every now and again I think your body benefits from it.”

$8000 DEEP INKER

CAULFIELD Cup-winning jockey Nick Hall is a walking billboard for pain and extraordinary workmanship.

But his days in the tattoo chair of Richmond-based artist Matt Collins appear numbered.

Hall used to be able to sit for five-hour sessions; several of them.

Not any more.

“I barely stand two (hours) now,” Hall says.

Nick Hall says the female Buddha Tara on his back still requires some work before his artwork is complete. Picture: Michael Klein

“My tolerance has gone down, physically the body just doesn’t cope. I’ve fainted a few times, too.”

Hall’s spent more than 50 hours in the chair and spent about $8000 on the custom including Buddhist deities Mahakala (front) and Tara (back).

Passing the time in the chair is not easy, Hall says.

“It’s not really something you can read a book or listen to music ... it’s hard to concentrate to be honest.”

Focus: Nick Hall wins on O'Lonera at Caulfield last month before his untimely suspension. Picture: Getty Images

Originally published as Star jockey Nick Hall finds inner peace away from the track in his quest to be the best on course