Pride Of Jenni Roars to Victory in โFeehan Stakes,Setting Stage forโ 2025 Campaigns
Moonee Valley,VIC – โฃPride Of Jenni delivered a โstunning performance in the Group 2 Feehan Stakes โon Friday night,signaling her โฃreadiness for โคa potentially โฃtriumphant 2025 racing season. The eight-year-old mare, ridden by Declan Bates, powered to victory, โcaptivating โthe โคMoonee โValley crowd and leaving jockeyโค Bates impressed with โher exceptional form.
The win marks a significant moment for Pride Of Jenni,โ a four-time Group โค1 winner, as she โreturns from setbacks and continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience under the training of Ciaronโฃ Maher. The โขFeehan Stakes victory โคis especially noteworthy as it occurred โขfirst-up,โค exceeding expectations evenโ for those closely involved with โฃthe horse. Ownerโฃ Tony Ottobre will be hoping this form continues as Prideโ Ofโค Jenni targets further โฃGroup 1 success.
Bates revealed he โฃsensed Prideโ Of โJenni’s strength early in the race. “I knew early โคin the race that Jenni was on,” he said. despite a less-than-ideal start, the pair steadily moved to the front, with Bates noting she was “really tanking underneath me” by the 1200m mark.โ He added, “I was really happy a long way out โin the race and it was just a matterโ ofโฃ trying to keep her up.”
While acknowledging her last jump out was promising, Bates admitted the extent of her first-up dominance wasโข unexpected. “Probably not,” he confessed. “Not that I would ever doubt her, but obviously she was first-upโฆ Honestly, I wasn’t totally expecting her to do that, but I certainly was not โsurprised. She was brilliant.”
Bates, who has partnered with Pride Of Jenni for six of her 11 career wins, described the victory as “well up โคthere for sure,” highlighting โฃthe atmosphere, crowd reaction, and the mare’sโ exceptional feel. He praisedโฃ Maher and his team for โคconsistently bringing โPride Of Jenni backโข to peakโข performance, stating, “I don’t think many trainers could do what he’s โคdoing with her.”
The jockey also noted the unusualโ experience of hearingโ the crowd’s roar from as far out as the 600m mark. โ”It just hits youโฃ like โa wave,it’s an amazing feeling.” Bates expressed unwavering confidence in Prideโข Of Jenni’s โpotential โfor future Groupโฃ 1 victories,โข stating he “wouldn’t โbe doubting” another triumph.