Racing: Apprentice shows how it's done as Karuta Queen wins Classic

GOLD COAST - A baby-faced apprentice and a battling trainer invaded the playground of the rich and famous and upstaged the biggest names in racing when Karuta Queen won the Magic Millions Classic on Saturday.

At just his second ride on the tricky Gold Coast track, Tommy Berry showed the nation's best jockeys how it was done when he led throughout on the flying filly to give Queanbeyan trainer Neville Layt his biggest success in 40 years of racing.

Karuta Queen (A$3.50 fav) gave the big crowd an awesome display of her sustained speed when she led throughout to record a 2-length win over Combat Kitty (A$14) with Schiffer (A$5.50) a short head back third. "It hasn't sunk in yet," Layt beamed. "But it will tonight. With this little filly I haven't aged, I've got younger."

Berry, 19, showed nerves of steel to become only the second apprentice after Michael Rodd to have won the Magic Millions Classic in the race's 24-year history.

Rodd won the feature on Regimental Gal in 2003.

"The most emotional part for me is to win this race in front of my family - they all came to the Coast to watch me and I am so happy to get the job done," Berry said.

Karuta Queen's owner Glenn Williams paid A$30,000 for her at last year's Gold Coast sales and the Not A Single Doubt filly is now unbeaten in four runs for earnings of A$1.41 million. Layt, himself a former jockey, said Karuta Queen was a once-in-a-lifetime horse.

Berry said he was confident Karuta Queen would win at the halfway mark of the A$2 million 1200m feature.

Corey Brown said he regretted not agreeing with trainer Matthew Smith's suggestion to add blinkers to Combat Kitty after her last-start third at Randwick. "I'm not saying it was the difference between winning and losing but she really hit the line strongly and all credit to Matt for getting her here."

- AAP