Pride Of Jenni set to make return from retirement at Cranbourne trial

2023/24 Australian Horse of the Year Pride Of Jenni is set to make her triumphant return to racing next week. According to trainer Ciaron Maher, the three-time Group 1-winner will start her comeback with a trial run at Cranbourne Racecourse on Monday.

Pride Of Jenni was previously retired after suffering a scary bleed in the Group 1 Champions Mile at Flemington last November. Racing Victoria required her to be away from racing for at least three months following the bleed.

Owner makes u-turn

Back in November, it looked like we had seen the last of Pride Of Jenni in Australian horse racing.

The champion’s owner, Tony Ottobre, made the swift decision to retire her after the race, saying: “There’s no more racing for Pride Of Jenni. I could bring her back in the autumn but I'm not going to do that.

“I’m not worried about the money. I’ll just look after the horse now and I think she's had enough. Everyone knows how to beat her and she didn’t perform that well. It’s all over.”

Since making those comments, Pride Of Jenni has been resting at Ottobre’s Cape Schanck farm. Something he saw there obviously caused him to change his mind about his star mare.

Champion rested well

Whatever Ottobre’s reason for bringing Pride Of Jenni is, Ciaron Maher supports it.

The trainer said earlier this month that Pride Of Jenni has been looked after really well at Cape Schanck. However, he noted that he doesn’t want to put too much pressure on the mare just yet.

“Tony has got a nice farm and they looked after her really well,” Maher said.

“She had her time off, she’s done a bit of training and we’re just going to go slow. We won’t drill down on her. I want to see her come back and show everything is in order.

“It’s good to see her happy, healthy and well.”

Mare making pleasing progress

This week, Maher gave an update on Pride Of Jenni’s status and revealing that she would officially make her return next week.

“She is really, really good actually. I’m happy with her condition and demeanor,” Maher said.

“She will most likely have a jumpout next week. I’m pleased with her progress,” he added.

Maher has yet to confirm whether Pride Of Jenni will actually race competitively this season, but that hasn’t stopped the betting sites from making the mare a contender for some of this autumn’s major Group 1 races.

The betting apps currently give Pride of Jenni $15 chances of winning the All-Star Mile next month. She is also listed among the potential challenges for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Queen of the Turf Stakes in April.