Pride of Jenni’s owner Tony Ottobre to keep his lips sealed on retirement talk for champion mare

Once bitten, twice shy: Pride of Jenni’s owner Tony Ottobre reckons silence is golden in regards to when to debate over when he finally decides to retire his champion mare.

Pride Of Jenni and Tony Ottobre after winning the Anniversary Vase at Caulfield on May 3. Picture: Racing Photos

Scarred by the keyboard warriors who criticised Pride Of Jenni’s second coming, prominent owner Tony Ottobre has vowed to keep his lips sealed when he decides the time is right to retire the champion mare for good.

Ottobre made what he admitted was an emotional decision to call time on the triple Group 1 winner’s career after she bled when last in the Champions Mile at Flemington in November.

But Ottobre changed his mind in the new year and in March, Pride Of Jenni returned with a bang, winning the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield under 61kg.

The seven-year-old then flopped in the $2.5m Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington before a 2.25-length victory in the Listed Anniversary Vase (1600m) at Caulfield early this month.

She was then sent to Queensland for the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m), won by local hero Antino, but faded badly to finish 10th out of 12 runners.

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It prompted further questions over whether it was time for Ottobre to again hang up the saddle for the Ciaron Maher-trained mare, but the owner insisted Pride Of Jenni would be the one to make that call, not him.

“When she’s ready, then we’ll retire her. And there won’t be any fanfare,” said Ottobre, who told Racenet recently that he had banned himself from social media.

“One day she just won’t turn up to the races and that’ll be it.

“I’ve already made an announcement and I tried to apologise to say that ‘look, I did get it wrong’ but it was ‘boo-hoo to you Tony, we’re still going to give it to you’.

“Well it’ll be ‘boo-hoo to you guys’ because I’m not going to tell them when she’s going to retire so it works both ways.

“I’ve always talked the truth but now I just have to clam up a little bit because it’s not good for my family.

“I don’t care, you can bag the s*** out of me but my family – my wife, my son, my grandchildren and my friends – they don’t like to see that kind of stuff.

“I just can’t believe how bad some people are with their thoughts about horses. It’s pretty rank.”

Pride Of Jenni returns with a bang at Caulfield as she goes all the way to take out the Listed Anniversary Vase 🙌@cmaherracing@craig_newittpic.twitter.com/hK9cYMVDRo

— Racing.com (@Racing) May 3, 2025

• Ottobre on Jenni, social media and race-day regrets

Ottobre said he felt vindicated in bringing Pride Of Jenni, who had won almost $10.5m in prizemoney, back to the racetrack.

“Because I mentioned that she was going to retire last year, ever since then everyone’s been jumping on my case saying ‘you should retire her’,” he said.

“Then she won the Peter Young Stakes. She was just outside the course record that was 20 years old and had to carry 61kg.

“We did the right thing and people have got to give us some sort of credit for that because we don’t retire her just because people say that we should.

“We have a judgment call to make and nine times out of 10 we make the right call.

“As far as I’m concerned, bringing her back and winning two out of the races she’s raced in was vindication enough to say we were on the money.”

The great mare is back! 💫

Pride Of Jenni picks up where she left off, stringing her opposition out & trouncing them in the Peter Young Stakes.@cmaherracing@craig_newittpic.twitter.com/qayDiM7HpB

— Racing.com (@Racing) March 15, 2025

• Next 48 hours important for Rothfire’s Stradbroke fate

Pride Of Jenni left Brisbane on Monday on a truck bound for Melbourne, where she will enjoy a spell before a likely spring carnival campaign.

But just don’t mention the R-word to Ottobre because he’s had a gutful of the negativity surrounding his champion mare.

“They all talk about retiring and age but horses can run up until they’re 13,” he said.

“I’m not saying I’ll do that with her but it’s no big deal that seven or eight-year-olds keep running.

“Chautauqua is the perfect example. He just told everyone that he didn’t want to run.”

Originally published as Pride of Jenni’s owner Tony Ottobre to keep his lips sealed on retirement talk for champion mare