10 Wins and $10million for Pride of Jenni
Reigning Australian Horse of the Year Pride Of Jenni (7m Pride of Dubai x Sancerre, by O'Reilly) produced another spectacular front-running performance at Caulfield on Saturday to win the $175,000 Listed Tile Importer Anniversary Vase (1600m).
The Ciaron Maher trained daughter of Pride Of Dubai has had some ups and downs as a seven-year-old this season, but was in good form for this assignment after a below par effort in the Group I VRC Australian Cup.
As expected, Pride Of Jenni was sent straight to the lead by jockey Craig Newitt and dominated the race from the front.
The $2.70 favourite began to pour on the pressure approaching the home turn, and she kicked away at the top of the straight to win by two and a quarter lengths.
Pride Of Jenni has now had 38 starts for 10 wins, 12 placings and A$10.44 million in stakes. She was a triple Group One winner in last season’s Empire Rose Stakes (1600m), Champions Mile (1600m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).
“She’s always fun to ride,” Newitt said. “She was good in the early part of the race, but I just wanted to get to the top of the hill at the 1300m, 1400m there before I let her roll.
“She knows where she is – she was trained here originally – so she got to the top of the hill and she changed stride, and then she started to string them out.
“I reckon the speed we were going at the 1000m mark was the same as the speed we were going at the winning post. She never quickened any more, but she never weakened either. She just maintained her gallop, which was good. Probably the last 200m was the most impressive, because her stamina kicked in and she just kept up that good gallop.”
Owner Tony Ottobre is now keen to take Pride Of Jenni to the Queensland Winter Carnival.
“She’s fantastic, isn’t she,” he said. “To see a horse do what she’s just done there, it’s incredible. I’m glad that she’s back.
“She’s still got a bit more condition than we’d like, so there’s more to come for the Doomben Cup (Gr.1, 2000m). We’re looking forward to that race.”
A $100,000 Inglis Classic purchase from the Segenhoe Stud draft for Tony and Lynn Ottobre’s Cape Schanck Stud, Pride of Jenni was bred by Trelawney Stud and is the first foal of winning O’Reilly mare Sancerre, a daughter of Group I Queensland Oaks winner Vouvray.
Her sire Pride of Dubai is currently leading the Australian General Sires List by earnings and stands at a fee of $27,500.