Vivian Coombes showing some backbone in dual roles

By Jordan Gerrans

When Ipswich’s Vivian Coombes isn’t training her small team of racehorses, she is helping to save lives in the operating theatre.

The 57-year-old hobby trainer prepares a team of two gallopers as well as riding her own trackwork.

Once she is finished with her horses at the Bundamba track every morning, she is on the way to the hospital where she is employed as a neuro spinal operating theatre nurse.

She has been working in the field for the past 30 years.

“I love it,” she said.

“I love the cases we get, the special neuro cases we get and seeing the good outcomes for the patients.

“We deal with brain tumours, tumours in the spine, trauma to the spine, car crashes and things like that, people with fractured backs, all that sort of stuff.”

Coombes has spent time in operating theatres at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and more recently at the Mater Hospital across her career in the medical profession.

As Coombes notes, she appreciates when the patients she helps operate on end up having a positive outcome following the surgery.

On the other hand, she had her own positive result that had been a long time coming last week.

Coombes had been training a small team since late 2019 but she was yet to crack a winner.

She finally landed her maiden prize on Friday at Beaudesert when stayer Revelaide won in convincing fashion.

“It's been a long time coming, we got there” she said.

“I was pretty happy, it took a while to sink in.

“He came to me with a lot of injuries and it took me a long time to rehab him.”

Revelaide started his racing career with Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou in Sydney where he won one.

He was then sold and sent north to Coombes at Ipswich where he has been based since 2024.

Apprentice Chelsea Baker has struck up a close bond with the five-year-old galloper and Coombes was glad to see the young rider taste the spoils on Friday.

Baker collected a winning double on the program.

“He's only a little guy but he got there eventually,” the trainer said of Revelaide.

“He did a lot of work for Chelsea Baker.

“She's ridden him in all his starts except for two, so I've stuck with her.

“She rode him with sort of different plan on Friday, she went more to the front and it really worked out for him, instead of sort of sitting back from the back.

“I ride him trackwork and his gallops and he's always keen.”

As well as Revelaide, Coombes also prepares stablemate Red Vegas.

Red Vegas is 10-year-old mare who is still searching for her maiden victory after 36 career efforts.

Red Vegas is nominated for races at Toowoomba and the Gold Coast this Saturday as the Coombes team aims to grab the second winner in the space of a few weeks.

“As a 10-year-old, she's had a second, a third and a fourth in the last three months,” the trainer said.

“She's never been so good. As a 10-year-old mare, she's pretty good.

“She has just been through so many injuries over the years.”

Coombes has been around the sport for much of her life, spending time around the industry in Victoria, riding trackwork at several different locations as well as owning former galloper Viv's Vegas.

Viv's Vegas was prepared by Chris Anderson and Kenneth Perrin during her career and won four races.

Coombes will go searching for another staying event for Revelaide in the coming weeks.