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By Ray Hickson

There’ll be no more popular man at Royal Randwick on Saturday than Tommy Berry if he can win on emerging star Apocalyptic and/or the former Kiwi Willydoit in their respective Group 1 features.

Jockey Tommy Berry (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Countless owners will be behind the duo, both on track and around the country, having purchased small shares through the My Racehorse syndication - and the colours are no stranger to success on Epsom day with Just Fine winning the Metropolitan two years ago.

Berry does have the weight of some expectation already on his shoulders with Apocalyptic the $1.90 favourite with TAB in the Group 1 $750,000 Darley Flight Stakes (1600m) but he also loves the feeling of coming back to the winner’s stall to raucous cheering.

“I think there’s 60,000 owners as part of My Racehorse, I’m not sure how many are in the two horses I’m riding,’’ he said.

“There’s definitely going to be more people cheering for them than any other horse in the races that’s for sure.

“Apocalyptic put in a very strong piece of work on Tuesday morning, the team are pleased with how she’s come through her last start. She’s definitely the one they all have to beat.”

Wins in the Furious Stakes (1200m) and the Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) established the Michael Freedman-trained three-year-old as potentially the dominant filly among her peers.

They’ve been in different style, in the Furious she drew gate one and Berry weaved a path through while in the Tea Rose she was forced to sit wide but still proved too good.

Berry said he likes how it appears the Flight Stakes will unfold for Apocalyptic, while knowing he’ll have a target on his back.

“There were doubters second-up but she knocked that on the head and I don’t think there are any doubters going into the weekend,’’ he said.

“She’s drawn well for her, where she can put herself in a position to get plenty of room which she enjoys.

“Everything that she’s shown us this prep has suggested she’s going to be better once she gets over ground.

“We weren’t surprised she did what she did first-up but we weren’t expecting her to go out and do that. The run we were least concerned with was second-up over 1400m and that’s given us plenty of confidence going to the mile.

“She was strongest to the line and she did it tougher than any horse in the race.”

It’s been 10 years since Berry’s lone win to date in the Flight Stakes, on Speak Fondly for Gai Waterhouse, and he makes no secret of how exciting he believes Apocalyptic could be.

“She’s going to be better over the autumn and once she gets to four,’’ he said.

“The amount of improvement, and how much she filled out, with that one break between two and three I can’t wait to see her with another spell under her belt.

“Even though she’s been able to overcome adversity so far she is only going into her fourth start, she can still do a little bit wrong, she’s improving every time.

“She’s not the perfect racehorse yet, that could come against her, but if she comes out and wins it cements that she’s pretty serious.”

If Berry is to steer Willydoit to victory in the Group 1 $1.5m TAB Epsom Handicap (1600m) he’ll have to defeat a dominant favourite in Autumn Glow but he feels he’s there with a chance.

The New Zealand Derby winner had his first run for Ciaron Maher in the Tramway Stakes a month ago and produced a dazzling last 600m of 33.88 (Punter’s Intelligence) as he finished midfield behind Pericles.

“He was pretty quick home and he’s obviously going to improve at the mile,’’ Berry said.

“I know he won a Derby at three but everything the stable is telling me they think he’s a mile-2000m horse. That’s the feel he gave me last start.”

Apocalyptic wins the Tea Rose Stakes

From barrier two Berry expects he won’t be needing to concede such a start in the Epsom, he jumped from 15 in the Tramway, and one thing he can be confident about is his ability to run out the mile.

“He’s drawn a barrier where he can sit a lot closer than last start and he’ll be able to put himself in the race and be quite hard to beat,’’ he said.

“There’s a short priced favourite we have to beat, she’s a very good mare but she’s still got to run a strong mile and switch off doing so.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Epsom meeting at Randwick