PRIDE OF JENNI TO LIGHT UP THE HOLLINDALE

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Queensland Winter Carnival action moves to the Gold Coast this weekend and Pride Of Jenni’s nomination for the $500 000 Group 2 AD Hollindale Stakes has just put the expectation up another notch on the excitement barometer for the race.

Pride Of Jenni’s presence in a race always does that.

While nothing is ever guaranteed, generally, her style of ‘take no prisoners’ racing … her bravery in striving to achieve that objective … the thrill she so often brings to the concluding stages of a race … and, last, but not least, the touch of controversy her owner sometimes brings to the fight through his decisions and his comments … all of this plays right into the promotion of racing that you money cannot buy.

Now an eight-year-old, Pride of Jenni has had more of an up and down career than her race record of twelve wins and fourteen places from forty-six starts … with over $12 million banked in prize-money … might suggest.

The ‘ups,’ which have obviously been plentiful, include a famous win in the 2024 Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2000m on April 13, a race in which she streaked away from her opposition by twenty-five lengths midrace and just kept going to the extent that when the field tried to come and get her, it was all too little, too late … with Pride of Jenni ultimately winning by a 6.54 lengths margin.

That kind of result would have been impressive in any Group 1 field, but when you look at the horses stretched out behind Pride Of Jenni … Via Sistina and Mr Brightside, amongst others, who finished second and third respectively, it puts into perspective what a mighty effort it was from the winner.

The ‘downs’ include a last place finish in the Champions Mile on November 9, 2024 in a race where Pride Of Jenni employed quieter front-running tactics (there was no tearaway lead this time), but was a spent force as early as just inside the 300m mark, from which time she fizzled out, dropped away steadily and was the last runner to cross the line, seven lengths behind the winner, Mr Brightside.

Post race, Pride Of Jenni was reported to have bleed from both nostrils, forcing her into a mandatory three month break from racing.

That led to a big public debate as to whether Pride Of Jenni should be retired, or not. There were even reports that she was retired …quickly followed by reports that the owner had reconsidered his position and that Pride Of Jenni would soon be back in the racing mix.

She did come back and won first-up, but that then became a hit-and-miss preparation with her first-up win in the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes being followed by dismal run in the Group 1 Australian Cup where Pride of Jenni finished as a beaten $3.80 favourite trailing in 15.71 lengths behind the winner … followed by another win in the Listed Anniversary Vase … followed by another ‘no show’ when finishing down the track, 10.92 lengths off the action in the Group 1 Doomben Cup.

This radical up and down form graph only fuelled the public debate of whether Pride of Jenni should continue racing, but the bottom line is that is always any racehorse owner’s prerogative … and when that owner is aligned with an as astute horseman as trainer Ciaron Maher, you would have to believe that no reckless decision will ever be made.

And so Pride Of Jenni races on.

She will be fourth-up into the AD Hollindale on Saturday with her previous three runs in this latest preparation returning a third place in the $2 million All Star Mile (behind Tom Kitten and Evaporate) … a second place (by the narrowest of margins) in the $2 million, Group 1 Australian Cup when only just touched off her stable companion Light Infantry Man … and a fifth place finish in the $1 million Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes.

Clearly the daughter of Pride Of Dubai is still super competitive at the elite level and she continues to peak interest wherever she goes … and it’s the turn of the Gold Coast on Saturday.

“It would have been remiss of us not to take her to Queensland and let the Queensland public have a look at this fantastic, beautiful animal that’s won Horse of the Year go around and hopefully do her thing where she can get out to a margin and stretch them and make it all exciting,” said owner Tony Ottobre, speaking on SENtrack.

The AD Hollindale should be a cracker of a race.