HE will be just another family man enjoying the sun and surf of the Queensland coast at Christmas - although there are sure to be one or two Australian racing fans around to recognise the man who plundered the country's greatest race.
Irish champion jockey Mick Kinane is soaking up the sunshine, and recharging the batteries that have taken him to unparalleled success in 1993, at Noosa Heads. And this time his trip to Australia is very much for pleasure.
It will be a far cry from the wild scenes which accompanied the triumph of Kinane and Vintage Crop in last month's Melbourne Cup, the dazzling late highlight to an incredible year.
Kinane signed off for 1993 with a double at Happy Valley last Tuesday, doing his customary professional job on Shanghai Triumph and Saint Dragon Hill, not names that roll as readily off the tongue as Vintage Crop, Opera House or Commander-In-Chief.
It is testimony to the total commitment of the man, however, that both horses got the same treatment as the Classic and Group stars of Europe.
Those who have met the 34-year-old international star socially or at the track in Hong Kong would find it difficult to believe the seemingly different image of Kinane that is projected in Europe.
Hong Kong sees the man as he really is . . . committed to his job certainly, but convivial, accommodating to press and the public he comes across.