Former New Zealand mare Polly Grey (NZ) (Azamour) has continued her love affair with Sydney racing, handling a steep weight rise to capture the Listed Lord Mayors Cup (2000m) at Rosehill.
It was the six-year-old’s third victory from her past four starts after claiming the Gr.3 Epona Stakes (1900m) in March and another black-type success in the Listed Gosford Cup (2100m) earlier this month.
She rose 3.5kg from her last-start win but made light work of the 58kg impost, settling midfield off a hot speed for Tommy Berry and closing strongly to score.
Charlie Duckworth, deputising for trainer Chris Waller who was in Brisbane, said there was no secret formula for Polly Grey’s vein of form and she just took time to adjust after arriving in Australia last winter.
“She has just continued to thrive within her routine. I guess they just take a bit of time to adapt to how we race over here and the training,” Duckworth said.
“Generally, their first prep isn’t as good as their second.
“It’s a completely different pressure, especially with horses that can be a little bit field shy and she wears the ear muffs.
“In Australia, you generally race a lot tighter than you do in New Zealand and throughout Europe and I think that’s why they take so much time to get used to it.”
Polly Grey and favourite Parry Sound made their runs at the same time but the mare pulled out too many punches, scoring by a long neck with the winner’s stablemate The Lord Mayor (NZ) (Rock ‘n’ Pop) a further 1-3/4 lengths away.
Berry was taken by Polly Grey’s determination and said she had to work for the win.
“She was there to be beaten because she’s had to take up the rest of the field and Parry Sound got the beautiful cart up behind me,” Berry said.
“But she just went into another gear when Parry Sound came up next to me.”
Waller’s five Lord Mayors Cup runners made up a third of the field and Polly Grey’s win gave the trainer back-to-back victories after Wu Gok’s success last year.
Polly Grey joined Waller after winning six races for Matamata trainer Kylie Fawcett, including the Listed Matamata Cup (1600m) and Saturday’s win was her third since crossing the Tasman, albeit she has never been far away in her 12 starts for Waller.
Fawcett races Polly Grey with her partner Rob Joyce and brother Brook, while she leased a half-share in the mare to Auckland client John Thompson.
Bred by the late Barbara Perry, Polly Grey was bequeathed to Fawcett, who looked after Perry’s small broodmare band and young stock at her Oxford Thoroughbreds, 10 kilometres south of Matamata.
Polly Grey is by ill-fated shuttle sire Azamour, who spent just the one season at Brighthill Farm in 2013 before his untimely death at Gilltown Stud in Ireland in 2014.
