
Jockey Tommy Berry, a two-time winner of the Golden Rose, believes talented youngster Raging Force has the potential to earn his place in this year’s Group 1 feature after a strong win at Rosehill.
The colt made it three straight wins this campaign by claiming the Thank You ATC Members Handicap (1100m), displaying versatility by settling off the speed and sprinting home powerfully.
“Every time in the winter you find one or two nice colts and fillies that have just taken a little time to mature and he was one of them,” Berry said, referencing his previous Golden Rose wins on Epaulette (2012) and Ole Kirk (2020).
“When he jumped so well, I really wanted to take the lead on him today and take bad luck out of the equation, but when they went too quick for him, he came back to me and relaxed well. He handled the situation perfectly.
“He is up and running and heading towards the Rosebud, Run To The Rose and Golden Rose where the horses that have already proven themselves at the top level are still just getting fit.
“He is already fit and he might just be able to catch them napping, hopefully.”
Raging Force was well backed in the Breeders’ Plate last spring but suffered an injury in the race, ruling him out for the remainder of the two-year-old season.
Stable representative Aaron Lau confirmed plans to freshen the colt before aiming at feature races in the spring.
“He’s got a lovely attitude, a lovely, big action and he’s probably better on top of the ground as well,” Lau said. “He is very progressive and it’s exciting going forward.”
Raging Force, a $150,000 Inglis Classic buy by Darby Racing, scored by 2-1/4 lengths from Horseshoe Hill, with Lull third. His latest win underlines his credentials heading into tougher assignments.