On a day when riders wore blue armbands to pay tribute to Nathan Berry, Vlad Duric was also thinking of another jockey when winning on Easy Drama at Flemington.
Duric rode the Peter Moody-trained Easy Drama to victory in Saturday's $180,000 VOBIS Gold Ingot at Flemington, sporting the colours of Roy Higgins and Wylie Dalziel Racing.
Champion jockey Roy Higgins died last month, aged 75.
The syndication company was formed by Dalziel and Higgins seven years ago.
Duric insists two-year-old Easy Drama will be a better horse next season but the victory in the 1200-metre race was lucrative for connections in the colt's first start.
"I think he'll be a nice three-year-old in the spring and I'm pretty confident he'll get over a bit further too, which will definitely suit him," Duric said.
"Today is just a bonus for connections, and I feel very privileged to wear these (colours) in Roy's memory."
Riders at the Flemington meeting wore the blue armbands to honour popular Sydney jockey Nathan Berry who died on Thursday, age 23, after a short illness.
Blue was Berry's favourite colour.