A good deed from the spring could be repaid this autumn when Tommy Berry teams up with the Cliff Brown-trained Sepals in the Doncaster Prelude at Rosehill.
Sepals has raced in Sydney once before, finishing runner-up to Autumn Glow in the Golden Eagle (1500m) on November 1 with Ethan Brown in the saddle.
Berry was always going to be at Flemington that same afternoon for the Derby Day meeting, but offered to help Cliff Brown in the Golden Eagle lead-up by partnering Sepals in trackwork.
Trainer and rider already had a connection through Berry’s late brother, fellow jockey Nathan, who had a stint in Singapore when Brown was there training, so when the Mornington-based horseman needed a rider for this weekend’s Doncaster Prelude (1500m), Berry was the man he called.
“I knew I was going to be riding in Melbourne on Golden Eagle Day, but I said to him, ‘I’m happy to do all of the horse’s gallops if you’d like, even though I’m not riding him’,” Berry said.
“He kept that in the back of his mind coming into this ‘prep’ and gave me a call well in advance. It was a ride I was happy to take early.”
Along with his Golden Eagle placing behind Autumn Glow, Sepals captured the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) in September and showed he had returned in a similar vein with a solid first-up fourth to Caballus in the Newmarket Handicap (1200m).
He has topweight of 59.5kg on Saturday, but Berry doesn’t expect that to impact his chances.
“He handles all conditions, and he is the class runner of the field, so the weight is probably deserved,” Berry said.
“I galloped him on Tuesday morning. He worked behind Pallaton, who is not only a very good horse in his own right, but a very good trackworker as well. They put in a nice, sharp piece on the course proper together so he’s in good order.
“I’d be disappointed if he doesn’t go close to winning.”
Sepals holds a nomination for the Doncaster Mile (1600m) on Saturday week, while the All Aged Stakes (1400m) on April 18 is also on his radar.
But with 54.5kg in the Doncaster, Berry already knows which way he is keen for the horse to head.
“I know there’s the option for him to go to an All Aged. I’m hoping to convince Cliff maybe a Doncaster because I could ride him there. But we’ll see how he goes on the weekend first,” he said.
Victorian-trained horses have been plundering some of Sydney’s biggest races in recent weeks with the likes of Guest House claiming the Golden Slipper (1200m) and Sheza Alibi the Randwick Guineas (1600m).
