Connections of the thought-to-be retired Pride Of Jenni have confirmed plans for a title defence in the upcoming Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Sydney on April 12 following her triumphant return in the 2025 Peter Young Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.

The mighty All-Star Mile winning Pride Of Dubai mare was originally set to retire from racing following a bleeding attack when eased to finish last in the Group 1 Champions Mile (1600m) at Flemington last November.

Following her mandatory three-month ban from racing, the seven-year-old made a surprise return to the Ciaron Maher stables where she was prepared for her comeback.

After a promising winning Cranbourne trial on March 3, Maher capitalised on a small six-horse field lacking depth in the Group 2 $500,000 Peter Young Stakes (1800m).

Pride Of Jenni went around a $3.80 second elect in the markets behind James Cummings‘ Melbourne Cup fourth placed mare Zardozi ($2.10).

Jockey Craig Newitt continued associations on $10 million earner Pride Of Jenni and gave her a peach of a ride to break the mare’s first-up hoodoo.

Newitt settled off Bois D’Argent early in the run before allowing the popular Jenni to take up front running with 1000m to go.

She quickly put the Peter Young Stakes result beyond doubt, rolling along in the lead to charge clear of the field and salute by an emphatic 2.75 lengths on the line over Zardozi with Bois D’Argent third.

“I think the biggest thing today was the small field,” Newitt said.

“It wasn’t really going to generate a lot of tempo, so from barrier three, just held my line the first couple of furlongs until I got up the hill because I knew if I got the first sort of eight or nine hundred metres right, her ability to take care of the rest, whether she fatigued or not late, she was always still going to take a power of beating.

“The old girl, when she turned down the side at the half mile, she grabbed hold of the bridle and basically said, hang on. So I just went with her and she picked up the tempo.

“She ran through the line as solid as anything, so she’ll only take great benefit from the run and by all signs, she looks like she’s pulled up traffic, so it’s very exciting.

“It’s a great reward for hard work. I work all year round and we live to get on these sorts of mares. I’m grateful for the opportunity and hopefully we can continue.”

A big roar went up from the crowd at Caulfield as Pride Of Jenni returned to winning form in style.

“She is just a freak of nature; she’s a credit to herself,” Maher’s stable rep Jack Turnbull told Racing.com post-win.

Turnbull went on to name the Group 1 $2.5 million Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington at the end of the month as the potential next-up run for Pride Of Jenni this autumn where she’ll be looking to go one better than her close second to Cascadian last year.

“Given the way she’s run there and won, the Australian Cup would have to be looked at for sure,” he said.

“But then, up in Sydney you’ve got races like Queen Of The Turf if you come back in trip slightly and then the Queen Elizabeth would be her ultimate grand final.

“But, for the moment, we’ll just savour this win.

“It’s a great effort and thankfully we have her back.”

The Group 1 $1 million Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) and Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) are both run at Randwick on April 12 on Day 2 of ‘The Championships’.

Pride Of Jenni won last year’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes by an impressive 6.5 lengths defeating subsequent Cox Plate champion Via Sistina.

She is now into $9 in the latest all-in 2025 Queen Elizabeth Stakes odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au to go back-to-back in the event for the first time since Addeybb (2020-21), while Via Sistina remains the clear $2 top fancy.

2025 Peter Young Stakes Results

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