Tommy Berry has experienced great success in Sydney and Brisbane this season, but now he has set his sights on making his mark on Victoria’s Spring Racing Carnival.
The superstar Sydney hoop is hoping to register his first Group 1 win in Melbourne during the biggest carnival of the season.
And he is likely to head to Melbourne with a book that would be the envy of most of his rivals.
Berry is the regular rider for Melbourne Cup favourite The Offer, confirmed international Cox Plate contender Dan Excel, 2013 Golden Slipper winner Overreach, Caulfield Guineas favourite Almalad and Cosmic Endeavour, who on Saturday he combined with to win the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara.
“The Offer, he’s coming back and I saw him at trackwork on Friday morning when I went to Randwick and he looked super,” Berry told RSN’s Correct Weight.
“Overreach is coming back into work in the next week and we all know how good she is if we can get her back in tip-top order.
“Almalad’s heading towards the Guineas and he’s very exciting. He did a lot wrong when he won his Group 1 a few weeks ago and still proved too good and obviously Diamond Drille and Cosmic Endeavour are probably both heading towards the Myer.
“I’ve got a nice team and Dan Excel’s another one, he’s heading towards the Cox Plate.”
Berry, who has been alternating between Hong Kong and Sydney the past few months, has risen to become one of the world’s top jockeys in what has been the most trying year of his life.
In early April he had to deal with the heartbreak of losing twin brother Nathan, who succumbed to mystery illness Norse Syndrome.
That didn’t stop him winning the Sydney Cup on The Offer and Queen of the Turf with Diamond Drille during the Sydney autumn, while, along with the Tattersall’s Tiara, he won the J.J. Atkins in Brisbane aboard Almalad.
He has also won four Group 1 races in Hong Kong this season, plus the Singapore International Cup with Dan Excel. (racingvictoria)