by Paul Vitesse, TDN AUS NZ
Polly Grey (NZ) (Azamour {Ire}) is the gift that keeps on giving to Kylie Fawcett and partners with her latest victory in the G3 Epona S. at Rosehill adding significantly to her future broodmare appeal.
The talented Polly Grey is prepared by Chris Waller after she was initially trained by her Matamata-based part-owner Kylie Fawcett, who was bequeathed the grey by her late breeder Barbara Perry.
Barbara was originally from the Wairarapa and moved to the Waikato in retirement as her small broodmare band was resident at Fawcett’s Oxford Thoroughbreds operation.
Among them was Blue Heaven (NZ) (Centaine), who produced the G1 Easter H. winner Pasta Post (NZ) (Postponed {USA}), the G3 Hawke’s Bay Cup winner Dom Domingo (NZ) (Don Eduardo {NZ}) and Allanah (NZ) (Zenno Rob Roy {Jpn}).
Allanah won four races and her first foal was Polly Grey, who was entered in Oxford Thoroughbreds’ draft at the 2016 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale but Perry passed away weeks beforehand and bequeathed the filly to Fawcett, and she was withdrawn.
“Barbara left her to me and I couldn’t bear to sell her then and given how things have worked out I’m so pleased knowing that I made the right decision,” said Fawcett, who races the mare with her brother Brock, partner Rob Joyce and Aucklanders John and Margaret Thompson.
However, Polly Grey is now racing on borrowed time and will be put up for public auction later this year.
“She is entered in the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale and we’ll probably sell her there. She is very special, but she is also worth a lot of money and there is a lot of risk in breeding and a lot can go wrong,” Fawcett said.
That was born out with Polly Grey’s dam Allanah, who was left to Nick King at Brighthill Farm and she subsequently produced dead foals to Cape Cross (Ire), Tavistock (NZ) and Dalghar (Fr) and died in 2018 when in foal again to Dalghar.
Her only foal is Polly Grey who has now won seven of her 28 starts and, given the right conditions, promises to add to her tally.
“It was a fantastic result on Saturday and Chris was very happy with her. I think he will stick around the 2000 metre mark with her and there’s another Group 3 race for her in a month’s time.
“She is nominated for the G1 Sydney Cup, but Chris doesn’t think she’s a 3200 metre horse and could go up to Queensland for the G1 Doomben Cup. The thing with her is that it’s all about track conditions.
“She will go on a Good track and will always try her hardest, but she’s at her best on rain-affected tracks.”
Polly Grey not only inherited the family ability but also her mother Allanah’s feisty temperament and was a handful earlier in her career.
“She was hard work and very head-strong. She was a late-developer and we had to muck around with her a fair bit,” Fawcett said.
Patience was rewarded when Polly Grey subsequently made her way through the grades under Fawcett’s guidance and won the Listed Matamata Cup and posted Group 2 and 3 placings before she was sent to Sydney last winter.
She was twice placed, including a runner-up finish in the Listed Winter Championship at Flemington, before posting her first Australian victory in the Epona.
“That first prep with Chris would have been a bit mind-blowing for her. She basically went from being one of the last horses worked at Matamata at 8.30am to being worked early in the dark, and hundreds of horses around her and she’s obviously settled in now,” Fawcett said.
