Spry adds another string to his bow

FOURTEEN years ago almost to the day jockey Carl Spry had his first race ride, finishing second at Gympie.

Jockey Carl Spry with horse Swanky Beau, Carl will run his first race this weekend as a jockey/trainer at Fannie Bay race course.

FOURTEEN years ago almost to the day jockey Carl Spry had his first race ride, finishing second at Gympie.

Spry adds another dimension to his impressive career record when he joins the ranks of the trainers at Fannie Bay on Saturday.

He will saddle up and ride two runners on the Darwin four-race card.

Swanky Beau competes in race three, the NT News Handicap, over 1300 metres while Nervous will be in the Maiden Plate over 1100m.

It’s not surprising that Spry has taken the next step in the industry as both his father Gordon and grandfather trained horses over a period spanning more than 70 years.

Spry, who celebrated his first Darwin win in the saddle last Saturday after his return from Queensland, will be helped by partner Sarah Acornley to prepare both horses for their Top End debuts on the dirt.

Spry said he had not noticed much difference in the transition from jockey to his new role as a jockey-trainer.

“I have travelled around a lot so I have seen how trainers do things differently,” he said.

“Whether it works for me is another story.

“I expect them both to run good races but they are horses not cars.”

Spry does not want a big team ... up to eight horses at the most.

“I have always wanted to train because I have battled with my weight,” he said.

“Now there is something else to fall back on.”

Darwin trainer Chris Nash will chase his first Melbourne Metropolitan winner on Saturday week when Design for Life runs at Flemington over a mile.

The five-year-old gelding, a $500,000 purchase as a yearling, will have a jump out today (Friday) in preparation for Flemington.

But Nash said the son of 2002 AJC Australian Oaks winner Republic Lass is unlikely to have more than one start in Victoria.

“The idea is to give Design for Life one run in Melbourne and send him for a spell,” he said.

“He will then go back up to Darwin to prepare for the Cup Carnival.”

Nash trained a couple of winners in Adelaide but this is his first attempt in Victoria.

Design for Life has had five starts at Fannie Bay for three wins, a second and a third.

HOOFNOTE: Congratulations to Australia’s oldest jockey Edgar Britt, who recently celebrated his 101st birthday.

Britt rode more than 2000 winners in an illustrious career which saw him ride for the Royal Family in England.

He won 1200 races during the 14 years he was in England, including all the English Classics, except the Derby.

But before those victories, he also raced and lost to the legendary Phar Lap.