Pride Of Jenni silences doubters

[Wandering Eyes]

Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) proved she is far from a spent force with a dominant display of front running to take out the Gr.2 Ladbrokes Feehan Stakes (1600m) which was accompanied by raucous support from the crowd of 10,000.

When Declan Bates dialled up the pressure 600m from home the noise in the amphitheatre which is Valley accompanied him and by the time Pride Of Jenni had defied Treasurethe Moment it had built to a thunderous noise.

So much so Bates said for the first time riding Pride Of Jenni he was aware of the noise and even used it as a guide to her prospects at the 600m mark.

“I got to hear the crowd roar. I think it was the first time I had heard as it’s usually just me and her. The crowd at The Valley gave a big roar at the 600m and that’s when I thought I must have had them in trouble. What a horse,” Bates said.

“From the 1000m I said let’s go and they can try and catch me. At the half mile I gave her a squeeze and I knew we were in business.”

Her trainer Ciaron Maher said he was a bit reserved regarding the eight-year-old mares’ return to racing in the Feehan Stakes which was her first run since she finished 10^th in the Doomben Cup.

Maher was close to tears when speaking about the mare post-race

“She’s an amazing horse and Dec Bates knows her so well. Full credit to Tony for having the courage to race her on. She’s 100% sound. She’s enjoying her racing,” Maher said.

Ottobre said Pride Of Jenni was “just a champion”.

“Ciaron is a superstar. To do this with an eight-year-old mare is unbelievable. The accolades must go to Ciaron for presenting the horse like this and Jenni is just a marvel,” he said.

Pride Of Jenni was bred by Trelawney Stud and is out of the O’Reilly mare Sancerre (NZ), 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.

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