Tommy Berry is hoping to end his apprenticeship on the best possible note with Group One success at Rosehill on Saturday.Berry has been granted permission from Racing NSW to come out of his time a month early and will be a fully-fledged jockey starting from next Wednesday's Warwick Farm meeting.The 20-year-old partners last-start stakeswinner Montana Flyer in Saturday's $600,000 Group One Coolmore Classic (1500m) with the Rosehill meeting to kick off the six-week Sydney autumn carnival.Berry joi
Tommy Berry is hoping to end his apprenticeship on the best possible note with Group One success at Rosehill on Saturday.
Berry has been granted permission from Racing NSW to come out of his time a month early and will be a fully-fledged jockey starting from next Wednesday's Warwick Farm meeting.
The 20-year-old partners last-start stakeswinner Montana Flyer in Saturday's $600,000 Group One Coolmore Classic (1500m) with the Rosehill meeting to kick off the six-week Sydney autumn carnival.
Berry joined Gai Waterhouse's Tulloch Lodge team at the beginning of February and brought up his first stakes win for the trainer when he partnered Montana Flyer to her second straight Group Three Millie Fox Stakes (1300m) victory at Rosehill on February 26.
"She's very tough and her work has been brilliant since," Berry said.
"Hopefully we can get a bit of a soft track tomorrow because she likes a soft track and it might put a couple of others out of play.
"She is proven at the track and distance, she placed in a Group One at the track and distance once before, and she couldn't be going any better.
"If she's going to have a chance in a Group One then Saturday is her day."
Montana Flyer ran third in the Group One Queen Of The Turf (1500m) behind Typhoon Tracy and Illuminates during last year's autumn carnival at Rosehill.
The five-year-old came up with barrier 14 of 17 for the Coolmore when the final field was declared on Wednesday but will come in one following the scratching of Lady Lynette who had drawn the rails.
Three-year-old stablemate More Strawberries joins Montana Flyer in the Coolmore as Waterhouse aims for her fifth win in the race.
Berry is looking for a similar tough showing to what Montana Flyer produced in the Millie Fox when she kept fighting to defeat fellow Coolmore hopeful Graceful Anna by a half-head.
"She looked like she was beaten about three times by Graceful Anna but she kept sticking her head out and that's the type of horse she is," Berry said.
The champion apprentice of Sydney racing last season and regular rider of $2 million Magic Millions Classic winner Karuta Queen, Berry said he would look back on his apprenticeship fondly as he prepares to compete at his final city meeting before joining the senior ranks.
"It's been very exciting," he said.
Montana Flyer was at $17 on Friday with the Mick Price-trained Aloha the $4.80 favourite ahead of dual Group One winner Melito ($7.50).