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Tommy Berry; Mick Price; Danny Beasley; Peter Robl; Autumn Updates; Adelaide Injuries; Katelyn Mallyon; Lester Grace

BERRY LEAVES JAPAN

Tommy Berry has ended his stint in Japan with six winners, while Hugh Bowman landed a double at Chukyo on Sunday to take his tally to three wins.

Berry and Bowman will both be riding at the Hong Kong International meeting at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Berry obviously enjoyed his time in Japan, tweeting on Monday “Off to HK tonight. Had a wonderful short stint in Japan with 6 winners. Can't thank every1 enough for their support whilst being here.”

Berry will be home for Xmas but Bowman is heading to Ireland for a family holiday after he completes his six weeks Japan contract and will not be home in Sydney until next month.

TRIAL TROUBLES

Melbourne trainer Mick Price seems peeved by the rule that has forced him to trial the unraced 2YO Extreme Choice at Rosehill on Tuesday before the colt can start at Randwick on Saturday.

“New South Wales, for some stupid reason, say first starters cannot race in Sydney without trialling,” Price said.

“He’s had two trials here in Melbourne so it does put me under a bit more pressure. I’ll have to give him a soft trial and hope for the best.”

Price might like to consider that what Victorian trainers call ‘trials’ in Melbourne are still only classed as jumpouts by Racing Victoria.

There would be no problems if RV woke up and redefined these sham jumpouts as official trials with all results fully recorded.

Of course the fact that they still let unraced horses start without official trials in Victoria is an argument for another day.

BEASLEY TAKES IT EASY

Injured jockey Danny Beasley will take things easy until he leaves to take up his new Singapore riding contract from February 1.

Beasley is recovering from a fractured ankle and doesn’t anticipate riding in Sydney before his departure.

ROBL DESERVES RANDWICK LICENCE

With Tony McEvoy getting boxes at Randwick and feelers going out to other trainers it seems the ATC are keen to boost the training ranks at Sydney’s major track.

Which begs the question why they don’t approve former leading jockey Peter Robl’s long-standing application for a Randwick training licence.

Robl, forced to retire from riding due to a severe back injury, has been told he can train at other tracks but the ATC cite his lack of ‘training experience’ for stalling his Randwick application even though he is working with John Sargent and is racing manager for Segenhoe Stud boss Kevin Maloney.

Maloney, a huge investor in the industry and a sponsor of the ATC, wants Robl to train all his horses at Randwick and surely that must carry some weight with the club.

Robl also has plenty of support from within the industry as he is widely respected as a highly talented all-round horseman. Few can doubt he would not be an asset to the Randwick roster.

Leading Albury trainer Brett Cavanough, a multiple NSW country premiership winner, has also submitted a new application for boxes at Randwick, a step he has been keen to take for some time.

AUTUMN UPDATES

Positive reports about a couple of smart horses likely to feature at the Melbourne and Sydney carnivals.

# Start Wondering, the former New Zealander with Chris Waller, is set to make up for lost time after he was sidelined by a virus at the start of the spring. He was impressive winning his Australian debut for Waller in August and moved nicely when fourth in a recent trial at Rosehill.

# Tony McEvoy’s star Alpine Eagle is recovering well from a cracked pedal bone that ruined his spring. McEvoy reports that Alpine Eagle is still in the paddock but is sound and he expects to have him back late in the autumn leading into the Brisbane carnival if he comes up..

# Triple G1 winner Happy Trails has started his autumn preparation. Trainer Paul Beshara has the CF Orr Stakes, Peter Young Stakes and Australian Cup mapped out before heading to Sydney.

# Perth trainer Adam Durrant hopeful of having his crack three-year-old Kia Ora Koutou ready for the WA Derby in the autumn. The Victoria Derby placegetter received 25 stitches to a knee after a paddock accident following his return to WA from Melbourne.

# New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Xtravagant – possibly the most exciting 3YO in Australasia – is set to resume at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.

The Pentire colt looked to be an extraordinary talent when he won the 2000 Guineas at Riccarton last month by a record-breaking eight and a half lengths. He is bound to race in Australia in the autumn with trainer Steve Burridge mapping out a 1400m race at Ellerslie on Boxing Day before the Levin Classic at Trentham as the lead-up to him crossing the Tasman.

BARRINGTON BOOKIE BOSS

South Australian bookmaker Warren Barrington has been re-elected as chairman of the Australian Bookmakers Association at their recent conference in Hobart

INJURED ADELAIDE JOCKEYS

Senior Adelaide jockey Simon Price is facing up to three months on the sidelines following a race fall at Murray Bridge last week.

Price suffered bad ligament damage to his shoulder that required surgery.

The Adelaide riding ranks are thin at present with Paul Gatt, Ben Claridge, Joe Bowdith and Ryan Hurdle all on the injured list and top apprentice Sigy Carr returning to Tasmania.

Gatt, after a successful comeback from more than a year off, has had a metal plate removed from a leg and will be sidelined indefinitely.

Claridge remains sidelined by a nagging shoulder while Bowditch and Hurdle are recovering from hand injuries.

Mature 27-year-old apprentice Siggy Carr has returned to Tasmania after a successful 18 months in South Australia that ended on a high when she was named dux of the SA Apprentice Academy.

Carr will get to ride in Singapore as part of her dux award but the mother of 11-year-old son Dylan is now looking for a quieter family life in Tasmania.

Carr, daughter of prominent Tasmanian trainer Royston Carr, has purchased a new home and property at Oatlands and will juggle her riding career with family life with son Dylan and life partner Troy Baker.

MALLYON CLOSE TO MILESTONE

Katelyn Mallyon is just one win from joining Melbourne Cup winner Michelle Payne as the only Victorian female apprentice to out-ride her claim.

Mallyon returned to riding last week after being on the sidelines since August when she suffered a serious ankle injury when a horse stood on her after she was dislodged in a trackwork incident.

The grand-daughter of former top hoop Mick Mallyon won on Miss Cooper at Moonee Valley on Friday night and needs just one more winner to lose her city claim, an achievement coveted by all apprentices.

Patrick Moloney recently outrode his claim in Melbourne and rode his first city winner without his allowance on Friday night.

Jacki Beriman rode a double at Sandown on Saturday and is also striving to lose her claim by riding another 15 winners before she ends her apprenticeship in late January.

Apprentices need to ride 80 city winners to lose their metropolitan claim.

MIXED FORTUNES

Sydney apprentice Lester Grace had a golden introduction to Brisbane racing on Saturday but a trip to Adelaide by veteran Melbourne rider Darren Gauci was a disaster.

Grace, apprenticed to Gerald Ryan, went north with his favourite mare Slots for his first ride at Doomben and she duly won her first black type race.

Trained at Newcastle by Grant Marshall Slots has never finished out of the top three when Grace has been her rider.

Meanwhile luck deserted Gauci in Adelaide where he was booked for three mounts.

All the 49-year-old Gauci got was a ride in the ambulance as he was struck in the head behind the barriers by his first mount and suffered concussion, forcing him to forfeit all his rides.