Glyn Schofield has already had cause for two celebrations this week.
And with a decent ride in the feature race at Warwick Farm on Saturday, there’s a chance of one more.
In a week when his daughter Whitney announced her engagement to jockey Nathan Berry, Schofield, who turned 46 on Friday, rides Carry Me Bluey in the $100,000 Australia Day Cup.
Whitney and Berry became engaged during a recent holiday to her home country of South Africa.
Their union will add yet more riding blood to a family already steeped in it, highlighted by Schofield’s son Chad who was champion apprentice in Sydney last season and is now making an excellent fist of an opportunity in Victoria with David Hayes.
Saturday’s Warwick Farm meeting will be the first time Schofield and Berry have ridden against each since the engagement.
The pair will face off in five races but the biggest bragging rights will be up for grabs in the Listed Australia Day Cup (2400m).
Berry rides Tullamore for Gai Waterhouse while Schofield will be on the former Queenslander Carry Me Bluey.
Schofield will be chasing successive wins in the feature which he claimed last year aboard the Chris Waller-trained Wazn.
Carry Me Bluey was a last-start winner over 2100m at Eagle Farm under 58.5kg and drops 4.5kg on Saturday.
He is untried over Saturday’s journey but Schofield believes his latest win is a good pointer.
“The 2100 (metres) at Eagle Farm is probably a stiff test as well … and he’s done it under a big weight,” Schofield said.
Schofield is also looking forward to reuniting with the Mark De Montfort-trained That’s A Good Idea in the Bowermans Office Furniture Handicap (1300m) after the gelding was scratched last weekend.
“I don’t think it was anything major. Mark thought there had been a few hot days and he might have been a bit jaded from all that heat so it wasn’t a bad idea to give it a miss,” Schofield said.
The most fancied of Schofield’s six Warwick Farm rides will be the Bjorn Baker-trained Havana Rey, a short-priced favourite to win the Australian Turf Club Handicap (1600m).
Havana Rey clashes with the Gai Waterhouse-trained Fast Clip, a Group Two and Group Three winner, who Schofield has the highest respect for.
“He’s taking on a really smart one in Fast Clip,” Schofield said.
“I know (Fast Clip’s) last couple of runs haven’t been up to scratch but he’s a Group winner and we’re only getting six kilos off him.
“It’s probably not as much as we need but (Havana Rey) is well, he’s fit and the blinkers go back on which is a plus.”
