IT takes nearly 17,000km to travel from Dublin city centre to the winner’s enclosure at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Queensland, yet the journey surely must have felt even longer at times for Irish jockey Tom Sherry on his way to a cherished first Group 1 success last weekend.

Judging by his emotional reaction after that breakthrough victory aboard Tashi in the A$700,000 Tattersall’s Tiara, it’s a path that has been worth every step for the 26-year-old, even if it has come with its share of challenges along the way.

From as early as he can remember, horses have been in Sherry’s blood. Growing up in the Irish capital, some of his earliest memories are of riding horses bareback through the streets and fields with friends and family; experiences which led him to an enterprising side career as a horse and carriage driver around Dublin at the tender age of 11. For the price of €20, he’d take any tourist in town from the Guinness Storehouse to Temple Bar.

Sight-seeing was swapped for racing saddles at the earliest opportunity possible, however. Enrolling in RACE upon completion of his Junior Certificate was a clear ambition.

“Race-riding was what I always wanted to pursue,” says Sherry.

“I always wanted to leave school and go to RACE. I had to be at least 15, and as soon as I reached that age I was gone. I loved every minute of it, getting to know racing. It was probably the best time of my life.

“My dad, Edmond Breslin, previously went to RACE as well. I think he was in there the same year as Conor O’Dwyer in 1982. He was sent to John Oxx from there and was telling me the story before that apparently he was drinking a bit in Kildare town and Mr Oxx felt sending him to Jim Bolger would be a good fit because there was no pub nearby. He never ended up going to Jim’s after missing the train and wound up in America! He’s a painter and decorator now.

“When I left RACE, I thought I’d be an apprentice jockey straight away but I went to Michael Halford’s yard and he had four apprentices at the time, as well as Shane Foley and Conor Hoban as stable jockeys, so I felt I probably had no chance there.

Early influences

“From that point, I went to Michael O’Callaghan. He was very good to me and gave me my first winner [on Aggression at Dundalk in November 2017].

"Then I arrived at Ado McGuinness’ and rode three more winners for him. I appreciate very much what I learned there. I got a good grounding before I came out here.”

With a trio of winners on the board from March to June in 2018, it had the makings of a bright first full season on the track for the teenager. His career would face a significant roadblock that summer, though.

Sherry was booked for a ride at Gowran Park on the June Bank Holiday Monday card but was given the impression that his mount wouldn’t be running so went out on the preceding Saturday night, with the Sunday falling as a day off work for him. After getting into what he has previously described as “a sticky situation where friends were drinking and taking drugs” in a nightclub, he ended up consuming cocaine.

Upon arriving at work on Monday morning, he learned his Gowran mount was in fact now going to run that day. Panic set in and that only amplified when IHRB testers were on site as he entered the weighing room building. Sherry tested positive and was handed a four-year suspension, though the ban was lifted the following year.

“I didn’t think I’d ever ride a horse again,” Sherry reflects on the incident now.

“It absolutely crossed my mind that I’d leave racing for good after getting the ban. It took a while to figure out what would happen; I was young at the time and had no idea what I got myself into.

“In that moment, you think you’re the worst person in the world. You realise you’ve let a lot of people down who showed faith in you. I didn’t think anybody believed in me. When something like that happens, it opens your eyes.”

Finding balance

Sherry has previously referred to this time in his young career as “trying to fit between two lives”.

“For sure. Obviously being from Dublin city centre and working in a racing yard are two completely different worlds. They don’t really intertwine with each other. I was living the two of them at the same time.

“I know how lucky I was to have good people around me. My family and my fiance [Danika] believing in me meant a lot because I lost a lot of belief in myself.”

With a promising riding career on hold, Sherry jumped at the chance to try a new path with the help of his partner.

“My fiance is from Cabra and, really, the whole reason I came to Australia is because she wanted to come. She has an aunt out here. When she told me she was leaving, I thought that I had nothing to lose by coming too. We kicked rocks and made the most of it.

“I was putting up temporary fencing when I first arrived. It was 40 degrees one day and I was carrying a couple of fences around, so I cut my shorts up and took my t-shirt off. I was on the train home and thought ‘Jesus, the temperatures have dropped quick’... I didn’t realise I had sunstroke. I told the missus that I’d be going broke before I’d be going back out there!

“That’s when I got back into horses. You realise what you’re missing out on. I don’t envy those boys working in that heat down here.”

Dolan example

It didn’t take long for the talented young horseman to find his feet when returning to the industry. Fellow Irishman and 2024 Melbourne Cup-winning star Robbie Dolan is counted as a close friend of Sherry’s and served as an example of what can be achieved down under when he put his energy back into the sport.

“Robbie was flying when I first came out here,” says Sherry.

“I looked at him at the time as someone who left Ireland with a similar resume to me; he had three winners in Ireland and two in England before travelling [and I had four in Ireland]. I thought when he was making a good go of it, I could put myself in the mix if I worked hard. I wasn’t quite sure how good I was, or if I was good enough, but the more confidence I got, the better I became.

“Myself and Robbie are chalk and cheese. I’m very quiet and Robbie’s very outspoken. He does all the talking and I do all the laughing behind him - we’re a good mix. You won’t find me on The Voice anyway, I’m more of a tin-whistler myself!”

He adds: “I’ve been out here riding for few years [since 2019], which feels like a long time to me but, in the grand scheme of a career, it’s all happened very quickly. I met a man called Mark Newnham, who Robbie was apprentice to at the time. He saw me riding trackwork one day and said if I fancied coming to ride for him that he’d make me champion apprentice. I genuinely thought this bloke was losing his marbles. In fairness to him, he was true to his word. I’ve ridden close to 100 winners for Mark alone over here - he was a massive supporter to me.”

Champion feat

It was a massive achievement for the Sydney-based rider to be crowned New South Wales’ apprentice premiership winner for 2019/’20. In the same season, Dolan won Racing New South Wales’ metropolitan apprentice premiership. It all demonstrates the rewards available to young Irish people who are willing to take the leap by moving to Australia - and backing it up with a major work ethic.

“I meet so many Irish people here and they’re doing things they never thought they would in this country,” says Sherry.

“They’re laying pipes under tunnels and all sorts, getting well paid and loving the lives they’re leading. Australia is sort of like the new America when they talk about the land of opportunity. There’s a good work-life balance too. When you have a day off and the weather is good, I enjoy running along the beach. I run a lot. There are plenty of lunch spots and things like that. It’s a nice life.”

For all that Sherry has been making the most of his time in the southern hemisphere, notching up more than 350 winners since arriving on the scene in 2019, there was one outstanding itch that he desperately wanted to scratch. A Group 1 winner had proven elusive across his first 19 attempts at the top level.

“Over here it’s a little bit different to racing at home,” he explains.

“As soon as you come out of your apprenticeship, it feels like a lot of people just expect you to win a Group 1. Now, there are a lot more Group 1s in the programme here, so there are greater opportunities to win one, but you want to cement yourself in one of those races.

“I went through the first part of my career thinking the Group 1 would come easy. I became champion apprentice and felt it was coming. But it never did. For the last year, it’s been sort of getting to the stage you think it won’t happen for me. I’m coming up short. I’m starting to think it’s just not for me.”

Unlikely success

Sherry would be the first to tell you that he never expected the Peter Snowden-trained Tashi to be the one who helped break down the Group 1 door for him, but it was a most welcome twist in the road imaginable when she did last weekend at Eagle Farm.

“I’ve ridden her for most of her career, back to when she was in benchmark races - not listed or group level - and she was getting beaten in that grade,” he notes. “If you asked me six months or a year ago would she ever win a Group 1, I’d have told you she’s not good enough but this preparation has been different for her. She was beaten in a listed race at a provincial track, the likes of a Gowran Park-type of set-up, then came from the back of the field to finish second in a Group 2 called the Dane Ripper Stakes two weeks ago. That run gave me great confidence.

“It was much the same field that lined up again in the Group 1 over the weekend and I thought if I could get a better position closer to the speed, we’d have a chance. It just worked out really well.”

Having previously captured eight listed races, eight Group 3s and a Group 2 in his spell down under, finally getting off the mark at the highest level clearly meant the world to Sherry - and everyone who has supported him through his unique journey to this point.

“Honestly, it feels like a rollercoaster. It was such a relief for me to get that on the board. It’s a weight off my shoulders to say I’m a Group 1-winning jockey. Nobody else had pressure on me, but I was putting massive pressure on myself to get that job done.

“The next day I step into a Group 1, I’m not going out there with that sense that it has to happen for me. I can enjoy it and hope it falls into place to win again. It’s all a relief.

“The reaction afterwards was unbelievable. Surreal. I got my family on FaceTime after the race and they were drinking champagne - it was 7am in Ireland! I’d say they probably let loose more than I did that night.

Key backing

“My fiancée and I have been together nine years this year. She’s been through all the highs and all the lows. After winning on Saturday, my parents and her, and all the people who have helped you, are on your mind.”

Sherry has special appreciation for the support of trainers Stephen Thorne and Ado McGuinness, with the former cited as a key figure in this Australian adventure taking shape.

“I’ve got some nice messages from people back home in racing too since the weekend, the likes of Shane Foley, Michael O’Callaghan and Stephen Thorne to name a few. Stephen was actually the one who got me my first job out here in Australia. He had done the Godolphin Flying Start and was based out here for a while.

“I have to say that Stephen has really been a massive part of my career. He was probably the first person to believe in me, telling me I’m a great jockey and things that you don’t even believe you are yourself. He encouraged me a lot when I was working with him at Ado McGuinness’. It’s a big help to have people like that behind you.

“It’s not a surprise to me that Stephen has made such a strong start to training in his own name, with Royal Ascot runners and nice winners already. I met him in Dubai two years ago and he mentioned going out on his own at some stage. I’ve already messaged him to ask that he keeps me in mind for a spin when I do come home.”

Don’t expect a permanent switch any time soon, though. With an 11th-place position in the competitive Sydney jockeys’ premiership and series of carnival-hopping ventures to come in the search of more top prizes, Sherry has firmly established himself in sunnier climes for now.

“Australia is my home now,” he says. “I’ve been here nearly seven years. Visas are difficult at the moment, we don’t have travel rights to leave Australia, but when we do I’d love to come home and spin a couple around for old times’ sake.

“It’s a case of trying to cement my name there for owners and trainers when they’re juggling riders around for big races and carnivals. That’d be my first goal.

“It’s tough to get those better rides, maybe not as tough as it is in Ireland, but you need to be willing to put in the graft. A lot of it is luck too. If you don’t have luck for them early, they just tend to move on to the next one because there are so many riders out here. I’m lucky that the trainers I put my hard work and hours into have been good enough to support me pretty well.”

He adds: “I’ve been riding professionally in Sydney for three or four years and been lucky to have had some good success, so hopefully this helps to establish a bit more of a firm base and some more quality rides.”

A long and winding road from Dublin to Australia has landed Tom Sherry right in the Group 1 spotlight - and there are certainly no intentions for him to leave it any time soon.

At the age of just 26, his journey is only beginning.