It was great to see Hong Kong’s Lucky Nine win in Singapore last night with jockey Brett Prebble- overcome with emotion- talking about this gallant galloper that trainer Caspar Fownes treats like one of his kids.
Just when you think Lucky Nine has simply given everything he’s got, Cas patches his kid up, experiments with gear changes and ockey and trainer prove the naysayers wrong.
And so it was with Lucky Nine during Singapore Airlines International Day last night as it turned back the clock- again- at- again- its happy hunting grounds.
There was Corey Brown, who left Sydney racing to become a citizen of the world, riding a brilliant treble.
There was Danny Beasley, another brilliant Aussie jockey who turned his back on Oz racing to move and live in Singapore, riding a double whereas Zac Purton and Joao Moreira, for whom Singapore was home for so many years, chipped in with a winner apiece.
There was Danny Beasley, another brilliant Aussie jockey who turned his back on Oz racing to move and live in Singapore, riding a double whereas Zac Purton and Joao Moreira, for whom Singapore was home for so many years, chipped in with a winner apiece.
When Berry, fighting back the tears, talked about how Singapore was where twin brother Nathan rode his last race, and the story of a butterfly that followed him from the paddock to behind the barriers and that angel on his shoulder riding with him, THIS was the highlight of the night.
This is what racing is often missing: Raw emotion that cuts through tiresome Oy Oy Oy twittering from oldsters who just don’t, or refuse to understand that We Are The World.
It cuts through parochial bollocks, cuts through “Hong Kong dominance” lead stories, cuts through the impor ts to the heart of the matter.
Simply put, the way Tommy Berry continues to conduct himself and wear his heart on his sleeve forces us to be better people.
It goes beyond racing and is the inspiration many of us need in our lives to keep going- to never lose sight of life’s priorities.
For this, we should be eternally grateful to the young jockey while hoping those running racing clubs understand the very human side of racing and how this can be translated into changing the perception of racing being only about winning and losing and damn that middle ground about caring for our fellow man- and the role each of us “common folk” plays to keep the sport alive.
Thanks, Tommy.
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