There must have been someone upstairs watching over racehorse 'The Chaplain' when he bolted from the Murrumbidgee Turf Club in January.
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Colvin Racing trainer Gary Colvin said the gelding was "keen to get home" to his stables across Travers Street when he threw his rider and galloped onto the busy thoroughfare.
The Chaplain, who had been on a winning streak, had a head-on collision with a passing ute with its bullbar inflicting such gruesome injuries that Mr Colvin was convinced he'd have to put the animal down.
However, 'The Chaplain' was named after Wagga Parish Priest Paddy Sykes and his service as a Navy chaplain in the second Iraq War, which might have brought some divine luck.
Mr Colvin said 'The Chaplain' was now "back on form" after nine months of recovery and had a win at Corowa last month.
"It's been a long haul of getting him back together, a lot of stitches," he said.
"He has healed up very well and there's no signs of anything holding him back.
"He might even have a crack at the championship. There must be someone looking after him. He was well-named. Perhaps we should start naming all our horses after priests."
The Chaplain's owner, Simon Rosengren said the first phone call advising him that his horse had been hit by a car also told him he'd likely have to be destroyed.
However, an equine veterinarian couldn't find any potentially fatal injuries during a closer inspection.
"It was divine intervention," he said. "You wouldn't believe it with his name."
Father Sykes said his connection to the racehorse came from the family of Mr Rosengren, who were involved in his ordination as a priest.
"After a little while I went off to the Royal Australian Navy as a Chaplain ... I served significantly at HMAS Cerberus, which is like the Kapooka equivalent of the Navy," Father Sykes said.
"I did quite a bit of time there and my deployments were to the north Arabian gulf in 2003 and then back into the Iraq and Afghanistan theatre exactly 10 years ago."
Father Sykes kept up his connection to the Rosengren family through all that time, but was only recently made aware that a racehorse had been named after him.
"I don't have an interest in racing horses. I grew up on a farm and rode what you'd call 'hacks' around the paddocks," he said.
Since the accident, additional safety barriers and flashing warning lights for approaching vehicles have been added to the Travers Street horse crossing.
The Chaplain's next race will be at the Murrumbidgee Turf Club on Monday and Father Sykes has accepted an invitation to watch.