Ciaron Maher‘s briefly retired super mare, Pride Of Jenni, is tipped to continue her successful return to racing with a Group 1 win in Saturday’s Australian Cup 2025 at Flemington.

The brilliant seven-year-old daughter of Pride Of Dubai was sent into an early retirement after a bleeding episode post her disappointing last in the spring’s Group 1 Champions Mile last Melbourne Cup Carnival.

After her mandatory three-month break however the team put her back into work and the evergreen, $10 million earner came back beautifully prompting them to bring her back to the races.

She showed that was the right decision with a dominant 2.75 length romp home fresh at Caulfield on Blue Diamond Day to win the Group 1 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) without a worry.

Pride Of Jenni now steps up to elite grade again chasing her fourth official Group 1 success in the $2.5 million Australian Cup (2000m) at Headquarters on the weekend.

She was beaten home by dual champ Cascadian in the race last year on the back of a two-length All-Star Mile success over Mr Brightside at Caulfield and looks to be in an equally rich vein of form again 12 months on.

Duais (2022) was the latest Australian Cup winning mare and the money is on Pride Of Jenni to be the next in 2025.

The Australian Cup odds at Ladbrokes.com.au list Pride Of Jenni at $3.20 with Craig Newitt to ride the favourite from barrier one in the 10-horse field.

The danger occupying the second line of Australian Cup betting this autumn at $5 is Pride Of Jenni’s stablemate Middle Earth.

The British bred Roaring Lion five-year-old is a lightly raced import who took his career record up to five wins from 10 starts when debuting for Maher down under last start in the Australian Cup Prelude (2000m) at Flemington on March 8.

He made an immediate impact winning by a quarter-length when beating home the stable’s reigning Caulfield Cup champion Duke De Sessa.

Middle Earth gets the chance to remain undefeated in Australia on Saturday up in grade and weight with Mark Zahra retaining the ride from barrier eight.

Maher chases his first Australian Cup win and saddles-up three in the field with his contingent completed by Light Infantry Man ($8.50) donning the No. 1 saddlecloth.

Ethan Brown continues associations on the consistent six-year-old who won Perth’s Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) last summer.

He has had two Group 1 runs this prep when only 2.45 lengths off Mr Brightside fresh at big odds in Caulfield’s Futurity Stakes before an eye-catching last start third in the All-Star Mile here behind Tom Kitten on March 8.

Light Infantry Man went around at close to $20 only to be beaten 1.3 lengths by the All-Star Mile winner and is being kept safer in the markets now not to be underrated again.

There are currently two other Australian Cup horses at single figures to beat home Pride Of Jenni with James Cummings‘ early market mover Zardozi ($6) and the Chris Waller trained mare Atishu ($6.50).

Godolphin’s four-year-old Kingman mare Zardozi hasn’t won a race since the Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes last March so is overdue.

She was good as a filly following that placing in the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes (3rd) and Group 1 ATC Oaks (2nd) before coming back in the spring to more than hold her own in the elite staying features last season.

Among her standout runs were a Group 1 The Metropolitan second in Sydney, fourth to Duke De Sessa in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup and her fourth in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup over the two miles here on the first Tuesday of November.

This prep she’s had four runs building in each most recently running second to Pride Of Jenni in the Peter Young with improvement expected again over further and rock hard fit now.

Atishu meanwhile is out to hand Waller his second Australian Cup success after that with Preferment back in 2016.

The seven-year-old daughter of Savabeel is a three-time Group 1 winner, most recently in the spring’s Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes here on Derby Day, after which she was second to Via Sistina in the Champions Stakes.

She’s third-up on the weekend and another All-Star Mile graduate (5th) who gets out to the 2000m distance now boasting a lovely 2000m record (9:3-2-2).

The 2025 Australian Cup is set to run as Flemington Race 8 at 4:15pm (AEDT) on Saturday’s 10-race card at headquarters.

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