Tommy Berry has voiced his strong interest in riding the upwardly mobile stayer Soul Of Spain in the Sydney Cup, actively seeking the partnership and committing long-term through the autumn series.

This decision is paying dividends already, with the Chris Waller-conditioned gelding even-money favourite alongside others for April’s two-mile prize, and presenting a viable upset possibility in Saturday’s elite weight-for-age Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill.

The previous Irish raider emerged prominently in spring via successive confidence-building wins in Queensland, followed by a win in the Newcastle Cup (2300m) and second spot in the Metropolitan (2400m).

He has turned heads with powerful late surges at his latest two starts, placing sixth to champion Autumn Glow second-up in February’s Verry Elleegant Stakes (1600m), then runner-up to Vauban alone in the March 14 Sky High Stakes (2000m).

Berry remains excited by the gelding’s displays and indicates the Tancred Stakes weights could be challenging, yet the rise to 2400m will favour Soul Of Spain en route to richer targets.

“Obviously, the step up to 2400 metres is going to suit on the way to a Sydney Cup . . . although, he’s got to meet some pretty handy horses at around the same weight,” Berry said.

“Last ‘prep’ he was doing things on raw ability when he was coming through the grades, but he is a lot more seasoned.

“Chris Waller got to travel him a little bit last preparation, up in Queensland and back to Sydney, and usually that’s very good for stayers. He has come back a more professional racehorse, and he’s got a really good turn of speed.”

A Tancred Stakes triumph would be gratifying according to Berry, but he deems the fixture ideal seasoning for Soul Of Spain’s Sydney Cup campaign, as the five-year-old benefits from dropping to 53.5kg from 59kg in the weight-for-age race on Saturday for the handicap.

“He’s ready to take the next step and Chris always uses a method getting to his grand finals, and the race on Saturday is one he’s used previously to get his better horses to a Sydney Cup,” he said.

Discover betting sites with the best racing odds for the Sydney Cup.

One of AEW’s top stars, MJF, took aim at a former WWE World Champion on social media recently after the latter critiqued his performance on Dynamite. Now, the self-proclaimed generational talent is officially scheduled to face off with the talent in question, Nic Nemeth (fka Dolph Ziggler).

For some time now, seeds were being planted for a potential showdown between Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Nic Nemeth, especially after The Wolf of Wrestling issued a public challenge to the “Most Wanted Man” to lock horns with him in an AEW World Title match this past January. Following on the heels of Wednesday Night Dynamite this week, the erstwhile Dolph Ziggler offered some words of criticism to Friedman while appearing on Busted Open. This prompted MJF to explosively lash out at the ex-WWE superstar, going so far as to call the latter an “overhyped” mid-carder.

It appears that a showdown between the AEW Men’s World Champion and the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion is finally set to take place. The matchup will go down at Create A Pro Monumental Moment on May 1, at Melville, New York.

“. @Myers_Wrestling just hit me up and said this clowns down to throw hands. See ya there Nicky.” – posted MJF on X/Twitter.

This will seemingly be the first-ever in-ring singles encounter between MJF and the “Show-Off”.

MJF has a massive AEW title match scheduled for next month

Maxwell Jacob Friedman survived one of the biggest threats to his current World Title reign earlier this month at Revolution 2026, where he managed to retain his belt against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match, and managed to lock him out of the World Championship picture as per the challenger’s own stipulation.

As he was celebrating his victory over The Cowboy this week on AEW Dynamite, The Salt of The Earth was interrupted and confronted by Kenny Omega, who earlier that night had become the new #1 contender for the “Triple B” by beating Swerve Strickland. The two stars exchanged words, leading to a World Title match between them being scheduled for Dynasty 2026.

It remains to be seen whether the so-called “God of Pro-Wrestling” will be able to dethrone The Devil this coming month.