“The horse dropped his bum at the start so he missed the kick worse than he usually does. He normally flops out of the gates, but Gytrash started playing up, they held up the start, and within the one or two seconds he dropped his bum and missed the kick.

“We ended up on the back of Classique Legend and Trekking, and Embracer was in front of me, so by 150m we were where we always thought we would be.

“The plan was to follow Classique Legend, but when he started to edge out around the corner, he wasn’t going that well - he’d normally tow you into the race but Kerrin [McEvoy] was getting stuck into him before the corner.

“I thought ‘I can’t go around him and he won’t take me into the race the way he’s going’, so we rode for luck.

“A horse like Chautauqua was a momentum horse, he had a massive stride and he couldn’t get held up for a run. With Masked Crusader, he’s like a young Benji Marshall who can step off the left, step off the right and let down from a standstill. He can get out at the 100m and still win.

“At the end of that race it felt like everyone else was in slow motion when we were hitting the line.

“The owners had run second and won good prizemoney, but it wasn’t the same. Michael [Hawkes] could see I was shattered and just patted me on the back.”

Berry said Team Hawkes were conservative with their horses, and would not have pushed on with Masked Crusader if they thought he was running on empty.

He can still remember booking tickets for Royal Ascot after riding the stable’s Chautauqua to victory in Hong Kong, only for John Hawkes to pull the pin and bring the grey home to Australia.

John, who does not bother watching trackwork and relies on instinct based on what he sees around the stables, noticed Chautauqua not rolling completely over on his back in the sand. He only got halfway and bounced back to his feet, which was a sign he had had enough, Berry said.

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“The Hawkes have always cared about their horses first, which is why I know Masked Crusader will be ready for Saturday,” Berry said.

“I also think his best trip is over 1300m and 1400m. He can run times other horses can’t. And if they go slower than last start, it will only benefit him because he will be able to travel and let down the final 400m.

“We might even travel a couple of pairs closer and sit midfield if he jumps well.”

Saturday looms as Berry’s last major day with the 30-year-old likely to bypass Melbourne unless a brilliant ride presents itself in the coming weeks.