It was with a heavy heart that Tommy Berry rode at Sha Tin on the second anniversary of his twin brother Nathan’s death yesterday but the consummate professional still came away with a win on John Moore-trained sprinter Bad Boy.
Nathan Berry died in Sydney on April 3, 2014 after a short battle with illness and Tommy admitted his thoughts were with his tight-knit family back home during yesterday’s meeting.
“It was tough leaving Sydney and the family at home, but I’m a jockey and I had a job to do, Designs On Rome is my man and I had to be on him for that lead-up run,” said Berry, who also won two successive Group Ones at Randwick on Saturday. “I’ll go visit Nath’s memorial when I get off the plane and spend some time with mum and dad when I get back.”
Bad Boy’s second-up win came as something as a surprise for both Berry and trainer John Moore, who said the three-year-old was “only 95 per cent fit” yesterday.
The Australian import had already run once, just over two weeks ago at Happy Valley, but Moore called that last-placed effort a write-off.
“He might have looked disappointing first-up at Happy Valley, but he wasn’t really ready and he had never trialled there and the track didn’t suit him - he had no idea there and actually lost the plot a little bit,” Moore said. “He has a future here, he is a horse we sourced out of Adelaide where we liked his performances, but the best thing about today was that he was able to win despite being seriously underdone.”
With that lack of match fitness in mind, Berry rode the straight track relatively conservatively in a race that panned out perfectly for him as the leaders cut into each other and then tired late.
“John said to me to be careful, because he was still one run away,” he said. “We thought he would be hard to beat but would win next start. That’s why I took a sit, I probably would have led otherwise - I just waited and waited and got the run late. But you saw him on the line - he was a bit tired as well. He is a horse with a lot of upside, his form was good in Adelaide but he will keep improving.”
The son of I Am Invincible is owned by movie star Donnie Yen Chi-tan and wealthy businessman Karson Choi Ka-tsan, but neither were present yesterday, making for an awkward-looking presentation photo.
