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By Ray Hickson

Tom Sherry isn’t sure where he’d be if not for the support of Mark Newnham so the hoop would like nothing more than to deliver the departing trainer one more stakes win on In My Dreams at Scone on Saturday.

Tom Sherry and trainer Mark Newnham (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Of course, Newnham is winding down his stable ahead of his move to Hong Kong.

Sherry came to Sydney looking for a fresh start after a ban in Ireland some four years ago and worked his way up to be champion apprentice in 2020/21.

“I probably wouldn’t have been as successful as early as I was without Mark,’’ Sherry said.

“He’s been a massive help to me in my career, especially in Australia, and one last hurrah for him would be good.”

The 25-year-old has 265 career wins to his name so far and 86 of them, or almost one third, have been for Newnham including his first stakes win on Miravalle in the 2021 Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic.

After two chances to sit on the back of Darby Racing's two-year-old filly In My Dreams, Sherry is confident the filly will give a good account of herself in the Listed $160,000 Kia Ora Woodlands Stakes (1100m).

Her dam is a half-sister to Group 1 winner In Her Time and Sherry was suitably impressed with her easy barrier trial win at Randwick on May 1.

“She’s a lovely filly. I rode her a week prior to the trial in a gallop, that was my first sit on her, and she gave a good feel in the gallop,’’ he said.

“She backed it up in the trial, she’s very straightforward.

“Even in the trial she was very competitive and didn’t really settle and get in her comfort zone until she stuck her head in front that’s why we led the trial. She has good gate speed and she’s fit enough for a race like this.”

If In My Dreams, $5.50 with TAB on Thursday, was making her debut in a maiden somewhere Sherry said he would be supremely confident but he has plenty of respect for the well performed opposition at the top of the weights.

But they are in receipt of 4.5kg and 3kg from those rivals and jump from gate one.

“Saltaire and Dipsy Doodle are up and racing and have that race fitness in good races,’’ he said.

“She has her work cut out being her first start but I think she will make her presence felt.

“Whatever she does this preparation will be a bonus, she’s going to make a beautiful three-year-old and is going to be a nice horse in time.”

Among Sherry’s other Scone commitments, he’s keen to partner Elettrica first-up in the Muswellbrook Ford Handicap (1100m) on the back of a trial win two weeks ago.

In My Dreams wins a Randwick trial on May 1

The mare, now with Richard and Will Freedman, was scratched from a race on Wednesday to be saved for Scone and Sherry is happy to back that judgment.

“It’s a bit of a deeper race but she has a nice alley we can use,’’ he said.

“You look at the last trial she had against horses that are running around in Group races, Bois D’Argent ran in the Gosford Cup and Steely is in a stakes race on Saturday.

“While trial form can be hard to go on when you go the races she’s a definite chance.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Scone meeting