Renowned for his development of several leading lights among the next generation of jockeys, Mark Newnham has no hesitation in giving Tom Sherry a genuine Group 1 chance aboard Matcha Latte in the Randwick Guineas.
The Irish born Sherry honed his craft under Newnham during his apprenticeship but as is the case for many talented young riders when they come out of their time, getting a firm foothold in the competitive Sydney jockey ranks has been hard work.
However, after taking an overdue break to visit family in Ireland, Sherry has been growing in form and confidence and Newnham says his Randwick Guineas opportunity is “a deserved one”.
“He had a good break around Christmas time. He was a bit tired, he’d finished his apprenticeship a few months earlier and hadn’t been back to Ireland for about four years so he needed a break,” Newnham said.
“His riding over the last few weeks has been very good. He has won a couple of races for me recently with excellent rides, he’s got a good bit of confidence about him at the moment, and he’s got confidence in the horse.”
Sherry’s biggest win to date came aboard the Newnham-trained Expat in last year’s Group 2 Millie Fox Stakes and the Guineas will be his fifth Group 1 experience.
However, Matcha Latte arguably shapes as his best chance yet of breaking through in a major.
Having proved himself up to 2000m with a close-up fourth in the Spring Champion Stakes, Matcha Latte should enjoy a distance rise to 1600m on Saturday and has shown he’s returned in top order with an eye-catching first-up third in the Hobartville Stakes (1400m).
“He was very good in the Hobartville chasing two horses who had already had a run back from a spell,” Newnham said.
“We went to that race giving ourselves a chance but not realistically thinking we’d win it, just because it was short of his best distance against horses like Aft Cabin, who was favourite and had had a run, and Osipenko and Zou Tiger had both been the same.
“You would think he’d naturally be open to more improvement.”
The Sydney three-year-olds have so far been a relatively even bunch over a mile to a middle-distance and while Matcha Latte is yet to win a stakes race, he has been thereabouts in several.
Newnham says it won’t take much to tip the scales in favour of his horse, especially from a good draw in barrier five.
“My bloke should have won the Gloaming last prep and he was three-quarters of a length away in the Spring Champion and that form has been very good. Sharp ‘N’ Smart, Elliptical, She’s Extreme, they’re the three horses that finished in front of him and they’ve all gone on,” he said.
“He’s matured and strengthened since the spring. With not a lot between them so far, he’s going to need the right run but he has drawn to get that and I’m convinced he’s better on good ground.”