The venue and the timing of the race were different, but Pride Of Jenni continued her impressive streak in the Feehan Stakes at Caulfield on Sunday.
The highly popular front-runner joined an elite group, becoming only the second horse, after Shorengro (1968-70), to win the Moonee Valley Racing Club feature race three times, delivering a characteristic relentless performance.
This year marked the first occasion the Feehan Stakes was held at Caulfield, having previously been a significant support race on Moonee Valley’s Grand Final Eve Friday night program. The transfer to Caulfield was due to reconstruction work at The Valley.
Pride Of Jenni approached this year’s race first-up since her second-place finish in the Group 1 Doomben Cup in May. Trainer Ciaron Maher expressed his astonishment at the mare’s continued strong form at nine years of age, a credit to owner Tony Ottobre and his team’s management.
“We were very rapt with her since the winter, Tony and his team manage her well and our team certainly know her very, very well,” Maher said. “I can’t thank the whole team at Cranbourne (enough). That’s where she spends most of her time, but she went to Ballarat for a gallop this prep which all the staff were happy about. She’s just phenomenal. She’s such a great mare. To have her back at this age and arguably in as good a form as ever, it is quite remarkable.”
This third consecutive Feehan Stakes victory was the 14th win in Pride Of Jenni’s 49-race career, with the $300,000 winner’s cheque pushing her total earnings to just over $12.8 million.
She did not have an easy run early on, with her frequent rival Mr Brightside ridden aggressively from a wide draw. Nevertheless, Pride Of Jenni took the lead after 200 metres, and jockey Declan Bates expertly rated her throughout.
The $1.85 favourite’s lead was reduced to about two lengths rounding the home turn, but she found more in the straight to win by 1-1/2 lengths from Treasurethe Moment ($8), who bounced back from her disappointing performance in the Makybe Diva Stakes. Pounding, who was the $71 outsider, finished a further 1-3/4 lengths back in third.
A major talking point after the race was the performance of star miler Mr Brightside, who dropped out considerably in the final stages and finished behind all other competitors.
Bates was full of praise for the horse that has significantly changed his career, celebrating their eighth win together.
“She’s just made of different stuff,” Bates stated. “We know it now. All the signs at home were that she’s as good as ever and I really came here full of confidence at how well she was going. Once again, Ciaron Maher producing her on the day. It was for me just sit and steer and enjoy the ride.”
For those interested in the betting markets for this race, exploring online bookmakers is recommended.