Tommy Berry wins his second Golden Slipper aboard Vancouver. (AAP: David Moir)
Almost a year ago Tommy Berry lost his twin brother Nathan. On Saturday he delivered Gai Waterhouse a record-equalling sixth Golden Slipper on Vancouver.
Berry was under plenty of pressure to navigate the short-priced favourite from the outside barrier, but he got the breaks when needed and saluted an emotional winner.
Vancouver ($2.50) defeated his stable-mate English ($12) with Lake Geneva ($18) a close third in the world’s richest race for two-year-olds.
“I have no words,” said Berry, who won the Slipper on Overreach two years ago with his brother in the stands.
“One of the best moments I’ve had on a racetrack was winning it last time with Nathan by my side and I’m so thankful that he’s looking after me today.
“I have my little son here. It’s funny, one person leaves you in the world and another one comes. I’m so blessed to have my family home.”
Berry was under plenty of pressure to navigate the short-priced favourite from the outside barrier, but he found cover three off the fence in behind the leaders.
Gai Waterhouse with French trainer Criquette Head-Maarek at Magic Millions (photo: Scott Fletcher)
He loomed up to the lead entering the straight and was challenged by his stable-mate English but held a margin of three-quarters of a length on the line.
“It doesn’t matter. Good horses get themselves out of trouble,” Berry said.
“I said the other day that if he won the Slipper he’d win the Sires and Champagne … I’ve got one right. I’m hope I’m right about the other two.”
Waterhouse said trying to emulate the record of six Golden Slipper winners by her late father Tommy Smith was a driving force in her career.
“The last words he said to me was, ‘You make a man sick. You can’t train two-year-olds’, then he passed away two days later,” she said.
“After I thought I’m never going to let that be my thing. That was a driving force for me.”
Waterhouse said she would let the dust settle before deciding on Vancouver’s next start, but there is no doubt she will aim to complete the triple crown.
“He is a joy. He is a dominant colt. We’ll worry about the [triple crown] after today … we’ll let him go home and eat his dinner,” she said.
| Golden Slipper Stakes 1,200m | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
VANCOUVER | $2.50 |
| T: Gai Waterhouse J: Tommy Berry | |||
| 2 |  |
ENGLISH | $12 |
| T: Gai Waterhouse J: Blake Shinn | |||
| 3 |  |
LAKE GENEVA | $18 |
| T: Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes J: Dwayne Dunn | |||
| Margins: 3/4 len x 3/4 len Time: 1:09.74 | |||
Reported on www.abc.net.au
