Pride Of Jenni upstages star rivals in Champions Mile at Flemington

Jockey Declan Bates noted some observers said he pinched last Saturday’s Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes with his bold frontrunning ride on the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained mare.

• What the jockeys said after the Champions Mile

However, Bates won’t have to hear such theories after the same tactics were good enough against tougher opposition in the $3m Champions Mile.

Bates made sure he kept Pride Of Jenni rolling in a good rhythm in front while stars Alligator Blood and Mr Brightside took perfect stalking positions.

The Cox Plate placegetters Mr Brightside and Alligator Blood were in the prime spot to challenge the frontrunner at the 400m but Pride Of Jenni again refused to wilt, holding off the pair to score her second Group 1 win in eight days.

“Few people have said to me that I stole it last week,” Bates said.

“It is a discredit to her to say that I stole it because I think I’m happy with how I executed the tactics but they are tactics that you can’t employ on many horses.

“You need a horse with a serious engine and a will to win.”

The clock showed Bates produced almost identical rides on Pride Of Jenni with only 0.11 of a second separating the six-year-old’s winning times over the Flemington 1600m course.

“I just wanted to ride her as I found her and through the first 400 (metres) today she was a lot more relaxed and that was key today against those better horses,” Bates said.

“She relaxed through the first half which allowed me to wind her up a long way out and she was able to sustain it.

“The love for this horse. She’s proven now that it wasn’t a fluke last week and she’s a champion, I believe.”

Maher said he and Eustace decided to test Pride Of Jenni against the best milers but wasn’t sure whether she could repeat the effort in the Champions Mile.

“I thought we’d have a throw at the stumps but she’s run as good or better,” Maher said.

“She’s an older mare now and they need to be very seasoned to race in that style that she does.

“It is what it is all about. Cup Week and training a Group 1 mare for a breeder, it doesn’t get much better.”

King Charles III Stakes winner Fangirl started as the $2.40 favourite after her unlucky Cox Plate run but she finished fourth after settling at the rear.

“She’s run well,” Fangirl’s trainer Chris Waller said.

“It was hard for her to make ground in a race like that.”

Originally published as Pride Of Jenni upstages star rivals in Champions Mile at Flemington