Photo: Bruno Cannatelli
With those same tearaway tactics that have made her one of Australian racing’s fan favourites in recent years, Trelawney Stud-bred mare Pride Of Jenni (Pride of Dubai) ran her rivals off their feet again at Flemington on Saturday and became the first two-time winner of the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m).
The daughter of Pride Of Dubai produced a similarly spectacular front-running performance to win the fillies and mares’ feature in 2023. That was a first win at Group One level for Pride Of Jenni, who went on to add the Cantala Stakes (1600m) the following weekend, and then a stunning six-length demolition in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick in the autumn after opening up a 30-length lead through the middle stages.
Pride Of Jenni was beaten in all of her seven appearances at Group One level as a seven-year-old last season, throwing her racing future into uncertainty. But on Saturday she stepped out at Flemington and produced a performance that emphatically silenced the doubters.
Regular rider Declan Bates again allowed her to power clear of the field through the middle stages, opening up a 10-length advantage.
Pride Of Jenni put herself well out of the chasers’ reach and never looked like being caught. Despite tiring in the last 200m, she still crossed the finish line with four and a half lengths up her sleeve. Last season’s Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) winner Leica Lucy produced a strong finish to fill the runner-up spot and add valuable Australian Group One form to her CV.
“I’m ecstatic and just so appreciative and respectful,” Pride Of Jenni’s trainer Ciaron Maher said. “She’s an amazing horse. For her to continually do what she does never ceases to amaze me.
“I can’t thank the team enough, and Dec, who rides her fantastic.
“Fair play to Tony (Ottobre, owner). I know he’s got some stick for not retiring her and racing on, but the mare’s happy and sound and she loves doing what she does. There’s nothing better than winning a Group One. I just want to give the horse a pat and a hug, and slap Dec on the back.”
Bates has been in the saddle for all of Pride Of Jenni’s four Group One victories.
“She is amazing,” Bates said. “She cantered around to the gates so relaxed, which is actually a bit unlike her, so I was a bit unsure coming around. But after 100m in the race, I knew we were winning. She got to her top nicely and kept extending every time I asked. I just knew there was nothing that could run us down.
“She did get tired late, but the job was done. She’s an absolute warrior of a horse.
“You can do things on her that you just can’t do on other horses. Her ability to sustain a gallop is freakish. For her to keep coming back and doing it year after year, it’s such a credit to everyone involved. Ciaron’s done an amazing job to keep getting her back. Tony and Lynn, wonderful owners who absolutely adore her. To be a part of this horse, it’s amazing.
“It’s a movie I would be happy to watch over and over. She’s something special – a horse with her style to keep coming back and reproducing these performances. Everyone involved with this horse, it’s clear they’re doing a magnificent job to keep getting her back.
“You can’t ride any other horse like you ride her, but the feeling she gives on these days is something else.”
Pride Of Jenni has now had 42 starts for 12 wins, 12 placings and more than A$11.4 million in prize-money.
She was bred by Trelawney Stud and is out of the O’Reilly mare Sancerre, who was prepared by Cambridge trainer Tony Pike to win on four occasions for the stud. The star mare stems from a family fashioned over generations at the famed Kiwi nursery, which has been in the Taylor family’s ownership since 1993, having been established by Seton Otway in the 1930s.
Group Two winner Real Success, the taproot of star Trelawney Stud graduates Vouvray, Loire, A Touch Of Ruby and Pride Of Jenni and many others around them, was one of the first families the Taylors bought into upon taking ownership of Trelawney.
Pride Of Jenni was sold at the Sydney Classic Sale for A$100,000 through the Segenhoe Stud draft, where she was purchased by Tony and Lynn Ottobre’s Cape Schanck Stud.
