‘You will never see anything like that again’: Pride Of Jenni runs riot in Queen Elizabeth Stakes

Front-running mare Pride Of Jenni produced what has been hailed as the most amazing performance seen at Randwick in 190 years to destroy the best horses in Australia in yesterday’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).

Pride Of Jenni has a brazen style of racing, in which she gets out in front and opens big gaps on her rivals, but this was another level.

Jockey Declan Bates took up Pride of Jenni’s usual role in front, relaxed her but when Mr Brightside got to her hindquarters after 300m, his mare wanted to stamp her authority on the race.

She did that in the most breathtaking style.

“She just felt [Mr Brightside] there and I let her go,” Bates said. “I never looked back, I knew we were a long way in front.

“When I turned for home I just looked for the winning post.

“She is incredible. She just kept running and nothing got near her.”

Pride Of Jenni ran sectionals that sprinters clock in a much shorter trips, which don’t require the stamina needed to run 2000m.

But she kept running, and although her last 200m was her slowest, by then the race was over as a contest with only time and margins having to be recorded.

Pride Of Jenni ($7) scored by 6½ lengths, which could have been bigger, from favourite Via Sistina ($1.80) with Mr Brightside ($10) 1¾ lengths back in third.

The story of the race was the back straight where Pride Of Jenni’s free-running style took her a dozen lengths clear by the halfway mark.

She got nearly 100 metres in front of the field at 700m as she was in one race and her rivals in another. It appeared a bigger gap to spectators.

The margins on the clock were 4.4 seconds passing the 1000m mark, 5.1s at the 800m, 4.8s at the 600m, 4s at the 400m and 2.5s at the 200m.

Pride Of Jenni tired but her rivals were more tired chasing her as Bates had time to ease her down in the final furlong.

“I have never been so amazed by one horse,” trainer Ciaron Maher said. “You will never see anything like that again.

“I knew she’d get better the more she raced at 2000m. My god, that was mind-boggling to know that a horse can do that.”

The Pride of Jenni plan had been clear for all to see coming to Randwick, but her owner Tony Ottobre had another card up his sleeve in trackwalker Peter Ellis from Melbourne.

“It is the one-percenter that make a difference,” Ottobre said. “She had a security guard on her last night and Peter always helps with our planning.”

Ellis and Bates walked Randwick together in the morning and decided the middle of the track was best.

“We thought the ground three or four off the fence would work best,” Bates said. “And we decided to go from the 1000m because we felt like where the track was at its best and it worked.”

Champion trainer Chris Waller was left to question if his riders could have done more to be closer.

After her efforts over the first 1400m, Pride Of Jenni ran her final 600m in 37.80 compared to the runner-up Via Sistina, which flew home in 33.55sec following a more traditional pattern of racing.

“The race lacked a second and third tempo horse,” Waller said. “Our boys were all stacked up behind basically at the crossroads waiting for the light to go green.

“That’s the beauty of racing. Competitive racing with tactical jockeys.

“From my perspective, it was disappointing but well done, Pride Of Jenni.

“I’d love to have at least been able to have a fight and Pride Of Jenni probably still wins.

“To get so far off them, I don’t know why they let the race unfold like that and most of my boys said it was out of their control but I think they all said that.

“I’m not taking anything way from Pride Of Jenni and hopefully we get a rematch in the spring.”

James McDonald, who rode Via Sistina, said it was “embarrassing”. Craig Williams, who was questioned by stewards if should have had more to chase the winner on third placegetter Mr Brightside, gave all the credit to Pride Of Jenni.

“Take nothing away from Pride Of Jenni. She is phenomenal,” Williams said.

Ben Melham, who ran fourth on Cascadian, which ran down Pride Of Jenni in the Australian Cup last time, blamed rival jockeys.

“The race was over after three furlongs. Second and third horses should have tacked up. It was always going to win with a scenario like that,” he said.

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.