Pride Of Jenni's Ownwer Tells "Keyboard Wariors" to Take A Hike

[Wandering Eyes]

Pride Of Jenni owner Tony Ottobre stays quiet on retirement talk

www.racenet.com.au

Scarred by the keyboard warriors who criticised Pride Of Jenni's second coming, prominent owner Tony Ottobre has vowed to keep his lips sealed when he decides the time is right to retire the champion mare for good.

Ottobre made what he admitted was an emotional decision to call time on the triple Group 1 winner's career after she bled when last in the Champions Mile at Flemington in November.

But Ottobre changed his mind in the new year and in March, Pride Of Jenni returned with a bang, winning the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield under 61kg.

The seven-year-old then flopped in the $2.5m Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington before a 2.25-length victory in the Listed Anniversary Vase (1600m) at Caulfield early this month.

She was then sent to Queensland for the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m), won by local hero Antino, but faded badly to finish 10th out of 12 runners.

It prompted further questions over whether it was time for Ottobre to again hang up the saddle for the Ciaron Maher-trained mare, but the owner insisted Pride Of Jenni would be the one to make that call, not him.

"When she's ready, then we'll retire her. And there won't be any fanfare," said Ottobre, who told Racenet recently that he had banned himself from social media.

"One day she just won't turn up to the races and that'll be it.

"I've already made an announcement and I tried to apologise to say that ‘look, I did get it wrong' but it was ‘boo-hoo to you Tony, we're still going to give it to you'.

"Well it'll be ‘boo-hoo to you guys' because I'm not going to tell them when she's going to retire so it works both ways.

"I've always talked the truth but now I just have to clam up a little bit because it's not good for my family.

"I don't care, you can bag the s*** out of me but my family – my wife, my son, my grandchildren and my friends – they don't like to see that kind of stuff.

"I just can't believe how bad some people are with their thoughts about horses. It's pretty rank."

Ottobre said he felt vindicated in bringing Pride Of Jenni, who had won almost $10.5m in prizemoney, back to the racetrack.

"Because I mentioned that she was going to retire last year, ever since then everyone's been jumping on my case saying ‘you should retire her'," he said.

"Then she won the Peter Young Stakes. She was just outside the course record that was 20 years old and had to carry 61kg.

"We did the right thing and people have got to give us some sort of credit for that because we don't retire her just because people say that we should.

"We have a judgment call to make and nine times out of 10 we make the right call.

"As far as I'm concerned, bringing her back and winning two out of the races she's raced in was vindication enough to say we were on the money."

Pride Of Jenni left Brisbane on Monday on a truck bound for Melbourne, where she will enjoy a spell before a likely spring carnival campaign.

But just don't mention the R-word to Ottobre because he's had a gutful of the negativity surrounding his champion mare.

"They all talk about retiring and age but horses can run up until they're 13," he said.

"I'm not saying I'll do that with her but it's no big deal that seven or eight-year-olds keep running.

"Chautauqua is the perfect example. He just told everyone that he didn't want to run."

[Wandering Eyes]

Pride Of Jenni's owner Tony Ottobre ahead of Doomben Cup

www.racenet.com.au

There are two things Tony Ottobre will never do again.

Make a snap decision on race day.

Or go on social media.

Pride Of Jenni's owner admits he made a blue with his emotional announcement that his star horse had been retired when she was eased down in last November's Champions Mile at Flemington after suffering a bleed.

"It was just after the race, the (media) microphones came in and people wanted to talk to me and I had already had a bad day," Ottobre said. 

Whatever the Doomben Cup result, Ottobre won't see the social media light up after the race.

He used to enjoy social media, sometimes spicing things up with a "bit of banter" which he believed helped to make racing fun.

Ottobre knows he might not be everyone's cup of tea, but says some of the vitriol he copped was beyond the pale.

He has banned himself from social media and will never be back on socials.

"I'm not a sook or anything, but some of it was getting out of hand," Ottobre said.

"If a bloke comes into my golf club and he's an idiot, we don't talk to him.

Pride Of Jenni and owner Tony Ottobre after the mare's victory in the Listed Anniversary Vase at Caulfield on May 3. Picture: Scott Barbour / Racing Photos

So I was thinking to myself, why would I be on social media, with all the knockers giving it to me?

"Some of it was really nasty.

"Nobody probably wants to talk to a lot of these people in their real lives, so they go on social media.

"Why would I want to get involved in that?

"There is also a really sad side to social media, there are kids who have killed themselves because of social media abuse.

"I don't know how you monitor it.

"These days, I have no idea what is going on with social media and I don't want to know."

Vo Rogue, back in the day.

Ottobre is about to jet into Brisbane for the Doomben Cup and he will have a special guest with him at the races on Saturday.

He has struck up a friendship, largely via text messages, with Vo Rogue's legendary jockey Cyril Small.

The similarities between Pride Of Jenni's dashing frontrunning style and that of Small's former star are easy to spot.

"We have got Cyril Small with us on Saturday, so that will be great," Ottobre said.

Cyril Small. Picture: Portia Large

"He has been really into the whole Pride Of Jenni journey, and the way she runs.

"He loves how she races and she reminds him of Vo Rogue.

"With Pride Of Jenni these days, we will take every run as it comes.

"At the moment, we know the horse is happy and she is enjoying what she is doing.

"She is a drawcard for a lot of people and if she had stayed in retirement, the members of the public would have missed out on watching a really good horse continue to race.

"A lot of people want to see her and take pictures of her and I think that is just great."

All of Ottobre and his wife Lynn's horses carry the name ‘Jenni', in honour of their daughter Jennifer who died from a brain tumour in 2015.

[Chief Stipe]

He seems a reasonable dude.  Highlights why most top level Trainers/Jockeys/Owners don't engage with social media or respond.  Instead use it as a marketing medium.

Though never ceases to me amaze how some cry a river on one channel and then act all tough on another.