Tommy Berry has barely had time to reflect on his year in racing since a breakthrough Group One win.
With a patient ride, Berry seized an opportunity on Darley second stringer Epaulette to win the 2012 Golden Rose for the breeding and racing powerhouse.
“A lot has happened since then,” Berry said.
Most of it has been good for the jockey who is well entrenched as the No.2 rider for Gai Waterhouse.
Berry claimed a Group One double during Randwick’s famous Epsom Handicap meeting before his season went into overdrive during the autumn.
He teamed with Overreach to win the Golden Slipper and Sacred Falls to claim the Doncaster – Sydney’s two richest races.
His form was rewarded with a short-term Hong Kong contract and his decision to head to the Asian racing capital was instantly rewarded with a QEII Cup win on Military Attack.
Berry is riding another outsider, War, in Saturday’s Golden Rose but he thinks he’s on the best of Waterhouse’s five runners.
“I wouldn’t trade him for any other of ours in the race,” Berry said of the Up And Coming Stakes winner.
While bookmakers are ignoring War’s chances in the Golden Rose, they think Berry is almost certain to ride one winner at the meeting.
Ecuador is an odds-on favourite to win the McGrath Estate Agents Handicap (1800m) and take another step towards better races.
“There doesn’t feel like there’s any bottom to him at the moment,” Berry said.
