Irish jockey Adam Farragher has celebrated a career milestone, winning his first stakes race aboard the Ciaron Maher-trained Glory Daze in the Listed W J McKell Cup at Rosehill.
Farragher had ridden seven black-type placegetters, including one at Group 2 level in the UK, but was thrilled to get a Listed win on the board on Saturday.
“I didn’t get too many chances back home in these sort of races. They were few and far between,” Farragher said.
“I’m really delighted. It has been a long time coming.”
Farragher often rode for William Haggas overseas and came to Australia with Dubai Honour during one of that horse’s Sydney carnival raids.
He met Maher through a mutual friend, and grasped the champion horseman’s offer to move to Australia late last year.
Maher’s assistant trainer, Jo Gerard-Dubord, was rapt to be trackside for Farragher’s career breakthrough and said it was a deserved reward for his hard work.
“It’s good for Adam. He’s a hard worker, and he doesn’t get many opportunities,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“He has been here for a bit now and he has ridden a few good winners for us, and he rode him perfectly.”
Gerard-Dubord revealed the McKell Cup was D-day for Glory Daze, who had been largely out of form this campaign and had been threatened with retirement if he didn’t rebound at Rosehill.
“He’s had a bit of racing and he’s not getting any younger,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“He’s had his issues in the past, so when they lose form like that it’s usually hard to get them back.
“But off the back of that, there are a few more runs left in him.”
Farragher controlled the race from the front aboard Glory Daze ($31 according to leading Aussie betting sites) and the horse was able to dig deep when challenged in the straight, staving off Tavros ($12) by a length with God’s Window ($2.70 favourite) another half-neck away third.
