Tommy Berry says his inside knowledge of Golden Rose favourite In Secret is unlikely to give him an advantage, but the forecast for wet weather in Sydney might.
Berry rode In Secret to her last-start win in the Run To The Rose but James Mcdonald will be aboard the Godolphin filly in Saturday’s Group 1 race with Berry partnering the Anthony Cummings-trained She’s Extreme.
The top jockey believes In Secret has few weaknesses to target but she was scratched from the Furious Stakes due to the wet track and Berry is hoping a rain-affected Rosehill surface might prove her Achilles Heel.
“She is pretty adaptable to anything. She is quite a smart filly and anything you wanted to do with her, ride her forward or back, she’d abide by what you wanted,” Berry said.
“The only thing that would probably bring her undone is a wet track, which would enhance the chances of horses like Fireburn and She’s Extreme.”
Both Fireburn and She’s Extreme excelled on rain-affected ground during one of the wettest Sydney autumn carnivals on record.
The latter won the Group 1 Champagne Stakes on a heavy track and showed she had returned in fine order with a game first-up third in the Furious Stakes where she was one of few horses to make ground.
Berry says She’s Extreme has continued to thrive and he expects her to give Saturday’s race a shake.
“After riding In Secret to win I was like, far out, she’s going to be hard beat,” Berry said.
“And after then getting on She’s Extreme on the Tuesday I thought, we’re back in business.
“You quickly forget how well they’re going until you get back on them.
“She’s a really good filly and the 1400 is going to suit her well, and even moreso the mile a week later in the Flight Stakes.”
Forensics is the only filly to have won a Golden Rose, her 2008 victory coming when the race was run in the autumn due to the equine influenza outbreak.
The race has special significance for Berry having provided him with his first Group 1 win aboard Epaulette a decade ago.
