Leading Sydney rider Tommy Berry will give The Everest race-day … the richest day on the Australian racing calendar … a miss and will instead head south to ride at the Caulfield Cup race-meeting which takes place on the same day (October 15).
It couldn’t have been the easiest of choices, but Berry ultimately put the opportunity to chase his childhood dream of winning a Caulfield Cup above other considerations and he is now set to partner the Annabel Neesham trained Numerian in the $5 million contest.
Without a ride in The Everest, had Berry elected to stay in Sydney where he would have had a plum ‘undercard’ ride on Art Cadeau in the $2 million Kosciuszko, he would have had to watch both $15 million The Everest and the Caulfield Cup from the jockey’s room, which would have been a tormenting experience in itself, given Berry’s thirst for competing and being competitive at the highest level.
Berry also felt that his opportunities to take up rides in the Caulfield Cup in the future might be limited, given the options that might eventuate for him in The Everest moving forward.
The decision has brought some regret though with Berry telling Racenet, “The hardest thing for me to do was to tell (trainer) Terry Robinson that I wouldn’t be riding Art Cadeau.”
Art Cadeau and Berry won last year’s edition of The Kosciuszko and would have been looking for back-to-back wins in the race on Everest Day.
“It’s one of the hardest calls I’ve had to make in my career because Terry, the connections and Art Cadeau have been so good to me, I’ve done all the work on him, and I know how good the horse is going.”
Berry’s explanation for making the tough decision, however, is quite understandable.
“The Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, as well as the Cox Plate, are still races I really want to win,” he said, citing a victory in those races as being a ‘lifelong ambition.’
It just goes to show that matter how successful you are (and Berry has been very, very successful) there are always new frontiers to conquer … and chasing a dream is very much part of what Berry will be doing when he makes that trip to Caulfield next weekend.
