Irish hoop Tom Sherry savours first Australian Group 1 triumph with Tashi in Tatt's Tiara at Eagle Farm
The unique racing journey of Tom Sherry took an incredible twist as he became the latest former Irishman to become a Group 1-winning jockey Down Under.
Sherry scored the Group 1 Tatt's Tiara on Peter Snowden-trained mare Tashi to break into the Group 1 club, seven years after arriving in Australia without a job.
When Sherry was a teenager in Ireland, he was handed a four-year suspension by racing authorities after he returned a positive in-competition sample to a metabolite of cocaine but the suspension was later slashed.
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When Sherry arrived in Australia he had no immediate plans to work in racing, but lobbed at Bjorn Baker's Sydney stables after some time building fences.
One thing led to another and he became Mark Newnham's star Sydney apprentice, blazing a trail which culminated in his first Group 1 at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Irish eyes were smiling at Eagle Farm, only seven months after fellow former Irish jockey Robbie Dolan won the Melbourne Cup.
Sherry has come a long way since scoring his first career winner in Dundalk, Ireland, in 2017.
'It's crazy, it feels like a little bit of a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,' Sherry said.
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'Things like this don't really happen to people like me, I'm very grateful.
'I have worked really hard, trying to get to this moment.
'Winning a Group 1 is a big deal for me, for the lad from Ireland.
'It's been a long time coming, trying to win a Group 1, but the stars aligned today.
'We have had a tough year but when stuff like this happens, it makes it all worthwhile.
'Mark Newnham was a massive figure in my life, a father figure, and going from being an apprentice to a senior jockey was a huge thing for me.
'There is a saying that when mares are in form, they keep producing, and that's exactly what has happened this campaign.
'Tashi has always been super consistent.'
Tom Sherry kisses the Tatt's Tiara trophy. Picture: Trackside Photography
Tashi started at $7.50 in the Tatt's Tiara after being agonisingly close to victories in her previous three races, finishing runner-up in each.
But she had the killer punch on Saturday, roaring home over Rob Heathcote's Queensland galloper Abounding ($19) and Chris Waller's mare Olentia ($31).
Tony Gollan's well-backed favourite Floozie ($3.20) had her chance but finished fifth, the first time she has been beaten in five runs for Gollan.
Snowden was emotional post-race, with Tashi raced by the Altomonte family which had patriarch George Altomonte pass away last year.
'I'm so proud of this mare and also of Tommy Sherry who delivered an absolute peach,' Snowden said.
'I'm thrilled for Tom, he came up here yesterday to get ready for this race so I knew he wouldn't be late today.
'But I think George Altomonte rode this mare from above today.'
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