Shortly after Joao Moreira announced his plans to leave Hong Kong to ride in Japan, the Hong Kong riding ranks lost another member when Tommy Berry revealed he will return to his native Australia at the end of the current season.
“There are two things that have led to this decision and the first of those is my family,” Berry told Racing.com. “I've got a young family, we've got three kids under the age of three-and-a-half and the youngest is only still a baby. It was always going to be a challenge coming back to Hong Kong this season with a young family and to be honest, they haven't settled in as well as we would have liked. The lifestyle doesn't really suit at this stage of my life and being back in Sydney will make it much easier for everyone.”
Berry had initially set out to Hong Kong as contract stable rider to trainer John Moore, but after the pair had little success together they agreed to break the contract and Berry, who recently won the G1 Champions & Chater Cup on Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal), has since been riding on contract with the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He admitted he hasn't been riding as much as he would like.
“I'm getting seven or eight rides at Sha Tin on a Sunday and maybe three or four during the week at Happy Valley,” Berry said. “That is only about 12 rides a week and I want to be riding more than that. I enjoy working, I like riding four times a week, sometimes more and that can happen back home. I'm only 27 and still like working hard, maybe a little down the track when I'm a bit older this lifestyle may be suitable, but I like the challenge of constant riding.”
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