A defiant Tommy Berry says he would be "disappointed" if Our Boy Malachi doesn't return to racing with an Expressway Stakes win on Saturday despite emerging from a head-scratching trial earlier this week.
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The 17-race winner will begin his autumn campaign in earnest after a last-start bleeding attack in the Doomben 10000 and bookmakers are taking no risks with Hawkes Racing's group 1-winner-in-waiting in the Rosehill feature.
Ladbrokes had him a dominant $2.30 favourite for the Expressway Stakes despite failing to beat a runner home after bungling the start in a Warwick Farm trial on Monday.
"I'd be disappointed if he didn't beat them," said his regular rider Berry. "With what we've got planned for him later on down the track I think he's better than what he's up against. He showed that last preparation. He was placed in a group 1 and then he bled his next start.
"[The trial] was nothing ... I wasn't worried about it at all. If he jumped in front he would have stayed in front, but he missed the kick by two lengths so he stayed there. He wasn't out there to be let off the bit, especially on a track that's heavy when he's racing on Saturday."
The "Rockhampton Rocket", who forged a reputation as near unbeatable in central Queensland before heading south to join the stable of Hall Of Famer John Hawkes and his sons Michael and Wayne, will chase an elusive major this campaign.
He is just one of a number of potential headline horses in autumn for Berry, who has quickly settled back into the cut and thrust of Sydney racing after an end-of-year stint in Japan.
"I'd like to think [he's a group 1 winner in waiting]," Berry said. "He definitely deserves a group 1 ... there's no doubt about that. But he's going to be up against the likes of Chautauqua and Terravista who are probably just a bit quick for him.
"There's every possibility he could have an easy autumn and then onto the winter carnival. I'd like to think if he finds the right group 1 and gets everything going his way he'll be very hard to beat."
Berry's black-type book at Rosehill also includes Our Boy Malachi's stablemate Mount Panorama in the Canonbury Stakes, an important pointer for the Golden Slipper, and So Serene for Gai Waterhouse in the Widden Stakes for the fillies.
"Mount Panorama was a big let down [on debut] and there were very high hopes from the stable and myself," Berry said. "He's just got a few antics that two-year-olds can't have when they're up against smart horses. If he puts everything together and does everything right I think you'll see a serious horse on Saturday.
"So Serene couldn't have done any more at her first start and she was beaten by a nice horse. She's definitely come back stronger and her trial was quite solid a week and a half ago when James McDonald rode her."
