High-profile racing identity Damion Flower - accused of smuggling more than 50 kilograms of cocaine into Sydney on commercial flights - had been living his dream life.
The son of a racing fanatic, Flower grew up listening to the horses on his dad's radio - with the early exposure meaning his dream was owning his own race horses.
But before the race track came the ocean, and by 17, Flower, who grew up in Bronte, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, was a talented surfer who'd won several championships and was shooting for a professional career.
However, a car accident changed that - leaving the then-reigning Australian champion with horrific injuries.
Damion Flower (pictured with co-accused To Oto O Junior Mafiti left and NRL legend Phil Gould, right) had always dreamed of owning race horses, but his dreams came crumbling down on Wednesday when he was accused of cocaine importation
Flower, who grew up in Bronte in Sydney's eastern suburbs was a champion surfer, then a baggage handler. He now has shares in 50 horses and owns stables
Flower, 47, suffered horrific injuries after a car crash when he was 17, ending his surfing career and earning him the nickname 'Snitzel', which would go on to bring him great fortune in racing
'When I was 17, I stepped out across the road and a guy came around a double-parked car and cleaned me up,' he explained in an interview with Racing NSW.
'A good friend of mine came in looking for me in the hospital. My face was grazed. He walked in and the nurse said '2B' but he walked back out and said 'I can't find him' before she said, 'no, that's him'.
Mr Flower used the money from his share of Clangalang, his first horse, to pay for Snitzel, who went on to win seven of his 15 starts
'He said no, 'that can't be him, he looks like a Snitzel' and the nickname has stuck ever since.'
Flower was told he might not walk again, and there was no chance he'd be able to surf at the level he had been, so he took up personal training, with most of his clients either women or boxers.
His new nickname would later become synonymous with his accomplishments as a racehorse owner - as he used it to name his Group One-winning stallion Snitzel.
However, before Snitzel, he worked as an airport baggage handler at Sydney Airport. He was far luckier with horses than he was with surfing, investing in a horse called Clangalang in 2003.
The horse won the AJC Derby, and Flower sold his share for $250,000, spending that money on a yearling he would call 'Snitzel', at the 2004 Magic Millions Yearling Sales on the Gold Coast.
This is where Flower's luck really changed. So sure of the horse's success, Flower claims he won half a million dollars off the bookies by backing his beloved horse at his first race at Warwick Farm, Sydney, which saw him claim the Breeder's Plate.
In 2005, the New Zealand Herald asked Flower's former racing partner Gerald Ryan if there was pressure for Snitzel to take out the Golden Slipper that year.
'Yes,' Mr Ryan responded. 'The owner - he's liable to have $200,000 on him just for fun when he goes to the races.'
Mr Flower's racing partners include high-profile Australians like Mr Gould (left) and John Singleton (right)
Mr Flower (pictured with prized horse Snitzel) faces six counts of import commercial quantity of border controlled drug
Snitzel didn't win Austalia's premier two-year old race, but still went on to become a champion racehorse in his own right, winning more than $1million in prize money.
His real value, however, came when he retired, with the horse fast becoming Australia's best sire.
The stallion cost $220,000 for each cover - to mate with a mare - and is expected to generate $40million in 2018.
According to Racing NSW, his progeny have earned a record-breaking $26million in prize money in the last nine months.
What's been good for Sntizel has been good for Flower, who holds a starting slot at the world's richest turf race, The Everest in Randwick, paying $1.8million to secure the spot for three years.
He also owns prestigious horse training facility, Platinum Park, in the Hawkesbury.
Until this week, you could say Flower had achieved his childhood dream, and then some.
He had shares in more than 50 horses, many owned alongside other successful Sydney figures, such as broadcaster Alan Jones and rugby league coach and administrator Phil Gould.
Pictured: Platinum Park Stables in Hawkesbury, which is owned by Mr Flower
That all changed on Wednesday, when a shocked racing world discovered he'd been charged with importing commercial quantities of cocaine from South Africa with a baggage-handler friend and another man.
Racing has similar no-fault rules to the NRL, meaning anyone who brings the sport into disrepute can be stood down.
His horses will continue to race, but any prize money he wins
