Tommy talks about pain in a triumphant moment

TOMMY Berry chose a moment of triumph to talk about the pain of premiership defeat.

The star jockey rode a brilliant race on Phobetor to claim the first feature race of the new season, the Group 2 $200,000 Missile Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday. Phobetor gave young trainer Michael Costa his biggest race win – and conversely the opportunity for Berry to talk about one of the biggest disappointments of his career.

He rode 111 winners in Sydney during the 2020-21 season but it was not enough to prevent rival James McDonald claiming a third successive premiership with 131 wins.

“I was gutted,’’ Berry said. “I fell (20 wins) short of James and I think that was because I had too many suspensions during the season

“If you get suspended six or seven times, like I did, then it is not going to help win a premiership.”