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Canberra trainer Matthew Dale has hailed last-minute jockey Tommy Berry's performance aboard Unanimously on Friday night, where he kicked off a busy weekend with victory in the listed Canterbury Classic (1100m).
Matthew Cahill was initially booked to pilot the four-year-old, but riding commitments in Wagga on
Friday afternoon prevented him from making the trip to Sydney in time, forcing Dale to find areplacement hoop.
Berry answered the call in style, less than 24 hours before controversially claiming a protest win aboard
Driefontein in Saturday's Magic Millions Classic.“He's going really well,” Dale said of the emerging jockey.
“What he did in Brisbane there a few weeks ago he rode a number of winners and it backed up obviously
his rides on Karuta Queen down in Melbourne which were really good, and there on Saturday aswell.
“Matty Cahill originally thought he was only in the earlier races at Wagga and would fly up. As it turned
out he was in the last race at Wagga and it logistically couldn't happen.“Tommy's ridden the horse before – he went on and got the job done.
“We thought we'd sit outside the lead and when Mrs Onassis wanted to press on he ended up
with a perfect drop.“He was explosive at the top of the straight when he peeled off their back and won well.”
It was the Not A Single Doubt gelding's first win at listed level and sixth in what's fast becoming
an impressive career for Unanimously under the talented Canberra trainer.Dale was unsure on the horse's next move, but hinted he'd likely be given three weeks between runs.
“That's his usual thing, ideally three weeks, he can back up in two once he's fit which he is now but
once again it depends on the right race at the right time,” Dale said.“We haven't locked in one as yet, there's Melbourne and Sydney and there's a couple of options both
places.“He pulled up really well. We're just going to see how he comes through this week and have a good chat
with the owners and go from there.”In the meantime, Dale's focus has shifted to his home track where he'll saddle up two runners on
Tuesday.Sydney's Destiny is after a second straight win, but needs to overcome 58.5kg and a wide barrier
in the Benchmark 55 Handicap (1300m).Meanwhile, South Australian import Signoret lines up for her first start under Dale in the Class 2
Handicap (1200m).“She's had a year off through injury, and she's first-up for me tomorrow so it's a bit of a chance to see
her, get one on the board and take it from there,” Dale said.“She's had the work under her belt, but when they're over a year between runs they're generally in need
of a good hit-out.“We'll be having a good look at her tomorrow and be weighing things up from there. She's pretty new
and we're just working her out.”