Written by Paul Vettise
Toryjoy (Street Cry {Ire}) isn’t an easy mare to manage, but she’s proved to be worth the time and effort, as was emphasised at Randwick where she bounced back to winning form in style.
The 5-year-old has thrived on a steady diet of racing and was back to her front-running best when she led all the way to add the Dixie Blossoms Special Achievement H. to her record.
Toryjoy had produced a similar effort on the track two runs back for rider Kathy O’Hara before she missed the jump when unplaced at Randwick.
“It was a well-deserved effort and she’s not a straight forward horse and full credit to Kathy,” trainer Chris Waller said.
“She’s a real horsewoman and my staff at home have also done a great job with the mare. Getting her to jump properly from the barriers and getting her to settle down has been quite a monumental task.”
“She’s a real horsewoman and my staff at home have also done a great job with the mare.” – Chris Waller.
Toryjoy had worn ear muffs at her previous unplaced performance and they were removed on Saturday and that move had the desired effect with the 5-year-old quickly into stride.
The mare was full of running at the top of the straight and after beating off Milseain (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) she went clear and had enough in reserve to find the line three-quarters of a length clear of Missybeel (NZ) (Savabeel).
Joy Of Flight, dam of Toryjoy
Toryjoy was bred by the Cornish family’s Torryburn Stud, who remain in the ownership and is a daughter of the Flying Spur mare Joy Of Flight, who won nine races including the G3 Tesio S. and the Listed Centaurea Trophy.
She has done a fine job at stud and has produced the Listed South Pacific Classic winner Landing (More Than Ready {USA}) and Almashooqa (Bernardini {USA}), who was a winner and finished runner-up in the G1 Greyville Golden Slipper.
“It’s great to win for the Cornishs. They are great supporters of racing and our stable,” Waller said.
O’Hara said Toryjoy was a tough mare and once they got to the front she travelled well.
Kathy O'Hara
“She had 60kg to carry and Chris changed a few things around. Last start she had a bit of an off day and she was back on song here.”
Toryjoy coped with four runs in June before a freshen-up and O'Hara believes there's more to come from her.
“She really dug in well for a top win. She’s so tough you couldn’t say you’ve got to the bottom of her,” O’Hara said.
“She’s doing a fantastic job and racing well on heavy tracks. She does like soft going though, so while the tracks are still soft then she’ll keep going.”
