'I spent the morning studying the Racing Post instead of preparing for my exam' - homework pays off as teenage apprentice rides first winner

Teenager Sadhbh Tormey spent Friday morning studying form in the Racing Post rather than studying for her Leaving Cert exam later in the day and that decision paid off spectacularly as she celebrated her first winner when Are You In Or Out landed a handicap at Fairyhouse over six furlongs. 

A niece of former jockey Glenn Tormey, who partnered Champion Hurdle winner Make A Stand to success in a big handicap hurdle at Sandown in 1996, the 19-year-old is an apprentice in the Tom McCourt stable and described the feeling of a first winner as surreal. 

Having sat a construction exam earlier in the day at Ashbourne-based school Colaiste De Lacy, she dashed down the road to Fairyhouse for another stern examination as she had to get 13-2 shot Are You In Or Out across from a nightmare draw in stall 14. 

Tormey did just that and brought the Paul Stafford-trained four-year-old home three and a half lengths in front of Jackandthefox, with the winning feeling being even better than she imagined. 

"It was unbelievable," said a thrilled Tormey. "I genuinely couldn't believe it. It didn't feel real. I was just waiting for something to come and catch me coming up to the line, but nothing did. I couldn't get over it when I won."

Are You In Or Out wins the 6f handicapCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

The closest she had come to a winner in her previous 19 rides was finishing second on Shining Aitch at Dundalk last November, and she got off the mark at Fairyhouse after sitting at a desk for a few hours. 

Tormey said: "I knew when I woke up on Friday morning that it was a big day. I was very nervous about the race. I wouldn't usually be one for getting nervous, but I knew she had a big chance and I really wanted her to win. I was definitely more nervous about the race than the exam. 

"I spent most of Friday morning reading the form of all the runners in the Racing Post, checking the ground and watching videos. I watched a lot of six-furlong races at Fairyhouse, too, just to see what way the races over that trip panned out."

It panned out perfectly for Tormey as she gave Are You In Or Out a textbook ride at her home track. 

"I couldn't tell you the number of times I've been to Fairyhouse," she said. "Especially when I was younger with mam and dad and going to the Grand National there every year. I was even in the pony club with the Ward Union and we used to have camps out on the track in the summer."

Sadhbh Tormey is all smiles after her first winnerCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Tormey is not sure what the future holds after finishing her Leaving Cert on Monday, with agricultural science being her final exam, but being a jockey is top of her career choices for now.

"It's amazing to be with Tom," she said. “He's given me so many rides and so many chances. I'm very lucky. To have James [Ryan] and Aly [Clarke] there is fantastic. James is the champion apprentice and he's been teaching me so much, showing me ways I can improve, 

"I finish up the Leaving Cert on Monday and I've put down a few different things on my forms, maybe physiotherapy or something, and I'm fluent in Irish so that could open a few doors as well. For now I'm going to kick on with racing over the summer and see how that goes."

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