In the space of 12 months, 22-year-old Tommy Berry has shot out of obscurity to become one of the best riders in the world as he continues his run of success against the world’s best in Hong Kong.
Working as a professional jockey is a unique athletic profession because unlike other sports, the jockey’s career is not exactly dictated by form.
Experience does not necessarily make a jockey a better rider because those who succeed when they are young have long careers at the top. The ability to get the most out of a horse and time a run is something that the jockeys come into the profession with. Few, if any, learn on the job.
It is for this reason that a jockey at the age of 40 often rides just as well as they did the day they were 20. It’s why guys like Damien Oliver and Glen Boss sound like they have been around since the dawn of time.
Rather than fighting continuous injuries or form slumps, the biggest challenge for jockeys beyond the fact they compete in one of the most dangerous sports in the world, is maintaining their weight. It’s what forces jockey’s to ride less as they get on in years.
After a certain number of years, fasting on a banana per day and going through hell in a sauna to lose one kilogram takes its mental toll and many chose to give it up. But they still have their killer instinct nonetheless. Berry has this instinct.
Twelve months ago, Berry was not much more than Gai Waterhouse’s track rider. He’d occasionally pick up rides at Sydney’s metropolitan courses if Waterhouse’s regular rider Nash Rawiller was suspended, couldn’t make weight or Waterhouse has multiple horse in the same race.
Fast-forward to today and Berry is one of the world’s premier riders currently plying his trade in Hong Kong. All the signs pointed to Berry producing a break out this season when he won his first Group 1.
In the first Group 1 race of the Sydney season, Berry picked up the ride on Epaulette, who was Peter Snowdon’s second horse in the race with stable rider Kerrin McEvoy on the better chance, Albrect. Trailing the field for the entire journey, Berry eventually pulled out on Epaulette and surged down the centre of the track to claim his first Group 1 win in a big upset.
A month later on Sydney’s Super Saturday, Berry claimed a Group 1 double when he rode Fat Al to victory in the Epsom Handicap before saluting on Glencadum Gold in The Metropolitan. The latter provided Berry with his first Melbourne Cup ride.
With all of Australia’s regular Group 1 riders in Melbourne for the spring carnival, Berry’s success what limited but his mark had been made because it was in the autumn when Berry stamped his authority on Australian racing.
An average season by Nash Rawiller’s lofty standards saw much more faith placed in Berry, who would soon be partnered with a filly by the name of Overreach from the Gai Waterhouse stable.
On his first ride aboard Overreach, Berry steered her to victory by six lengths in the Listed Widden Stakes. In their next start together the duo went on to claim the Group 2 Riesling Stakes by four lengths.
The highlight of Berry’s career came next when he rode Overreach to victory in world’s richest race for two year olds, The Golden Slipper.
A fortnight later, Berry booted home Sacred Falls to win the Doncaster Handicap which gave him victory in the autumn’s two biggest races.
His amazing season was rewarded when he was invited by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to ride in Hong Kong on a temporary contract. Taking the rare opportunity to compete against the world’s best on a global stage, he accepted immediately.
What is more amazing is that Berry quickly nestled himself into the top handful of jockeys in Hong Kong where competition is fierce.
In just his first week of riding in Hong Kong, Berry barnstormed the Asian island by winning the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes aboard Military Attack. Ever since, Berry’s services have been highly requested which is phenomenal considering how few people knew of him twelve months ago.
On Sunday at Sha Tin, Berry claimed a treble which included the final Group race of the season when he rode Sterling City to victory in the Group 3 Premier Cup. With his treble, Berry also claimed the jockey challenge for the day, one point clear of Douglas Whyte.
For the past decade, the only name entertained in the daily jockey challenge for a Sha Tin or Happy Valley race card has been Douglas Whyte. The South African has been crowned Champion Jockey in Hong Kong for an astonishing 12 consecutive seasons.
Previously, the only person ever remotely considered in the daily jockey challenge had been Brett Prebble who only got into such a position after claiming seven Sydney Jockey Premierships.
While Berry is no threat to Whyte taking out his thirteenth consecutive Jockey Championship, Berry’s little win on Sunday suggests a full season might have changed that.
For Berry to now be picking up good rides in every race and consistently booting home winners and out-riding Whyte is remarkable. His immediate success has been a testament to the hard work he has put in over the past twelve months and as a lightweight rider, he’s incredibly versatile.
Due to the nature of horse racing and the limited amount of horses in a race, there are rarely openings within the Group 1 jockey fraternity.
It’s been a remarkable year for Berry who has skyrocketed himself from anonymity into a select group of international Group 1 jockey’s. At just 22 years of age and displaying the killer instinct possessed by only a select few to ensure he will be riding winners for a long time.
Berry’s 2012-13 season will go down as one of the most inspiring stories for aspiring jockeys all around the world.
Have you ever tried your skills in a Racing daily fantasy competition? Put your best picks to the test for one day and see if you can scoop the pot with Draftstars. Looking for great odds on racing and sport? PlayUp is your best bet. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Without a Fight completed the rare Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double on Tuesday as star jockey Mark Zahra went back-to-back in the big one after…
The race that stops the nation is upon us again. Every horse in the Melbourne Cup has reasons they can win, and reasons they…
Those who want to have a really big collect on Australia’s greatest race, without risking too much, have to look at the exotic bets.
While most of the attention is on Ciaron Maher and David Eustace's Gold Trip, there's no reason why stablemate Future History cannot upstage him.
Champion jockey Damien Oliver is quietly confident his Melbourne Cup mount Alenquer will be passed fit to give him a farewell ride in the…
Melbourne Cup day is here again, and it’s never anything less than exciting. The Cup itself will of course be full of drama and…
