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Racing Confidential: Five stars in contention for Horse of the Year

Pride Of Jenni is favourite to win Horse of the Year, but Imperatriz has her supporters and Fangirl, Mr Brightside and Without A Fight are also in contention.

Ray Thomas
4 min read
June 21, 2024 - 7:00AM
Punters Hold All Tickets 2024 (Episode 42) 22-06-24

Pride Of Jenni is favourite to win Horse of the Year, but Imperatriz has her supporters and Fangirl, Mr Brightside and Without A Fight are also in contention.

All will be revealed at Adelaide’s Morphettville racecourse on October 10 for the Australian Champion Racehorses Awards ceremony.

Racing Australia has confirmed it would soon start collating votes from racing administrators and journalists to determine the 2023-24 Horse of the Year.

The Ciaron Maher-trained Pride Of Jenni’s spectacular win in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick during The Championships has put her in the box seat to claim the prestigious honour. She won three Group 1 races and the All-Star Mile during the season.

Her main rivals are Imperatriz, who won five Group 1 sprints; Mr Brightsisde, who was a four-time winner at the highest level; Fangirl, who was supreme in the King Charles III Stakes and Winx Stakes; and Without A Fight, who collected the coveted Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double.

• REVEALED: The secret behind Joe Pride’s success with tried horses

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O’Brien, Moore notch new marks at Royal Ascot

Irish training genius Aidan O’Brien and superstar stable jockey Ryan Moore passed significant career milestones at the famous Royal Ascot carnival in England this week.

O’Brien’s win with Auguste Rodin in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes on Day Two of Royal Ascot gave the trainer his 400th Group 1 winner – a world record.

Auguste Rodin became the English Derby winner to return and win at Royal Ascot since Royal Palace won the Derby (1967) and Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (1968).

O’Brien secured a record-equalling fifth win in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes after previous successes with Duke Of Marmalade (2008), Australian champion So You Think (2012), Highland Reel (2017) and Love (2021).

The Irish trainer’s world record of 400 Group 1 wins is remarkable as he prepared his first major winner less than three decades ago – Desert King in the 1996 National Stakes at The Curragh.

To put O’Brien’s record into some perspective, Australian racing legends Tommy Smith and Bart Cummings both trained 246 Group 1 winners.

Moore rode Auguste Rodin to win the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes to give the jockey his 81st winner at Royal Ascot, putting him level with Frankie Dettori in second placing behind the great Lester Piggott with 116 wins on the all-time list.

Auguste Rodin also gave Moore his third win in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and took his career tally of Group 1 wins to an impressive 193.

O’Brien said Auguste Rodin is likely to be aimed at the US Breeders Cup meeting at San Diego’s Del Mar racecourse later this year.

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Buckley, Beasley injured in racetrack incidents

Leading NSW jockeys Grant Buckley and Danny Beasley are facing extended periods on the sidelines after suffering injuries in racetrack incidents last week.

Buckley, who has ridden over 2500 winners during his career, fractured his pelvis when he was dislodged in the Wyong mounting yard and his mount fell on the jockey.

He underwent a second round of surgery on Wednesday and is likely to be released from hospital in the next couple of days. He is expected to be out of the saddle for up to six months.

Beasley has facial fractures after a trackwork fall at Wagga Wagga earlier this week. He is visiting a specialist on Friday to determine if his injuries require surgery.

• ‘Hardest thing for any horse’: Bridge’s Randwick fear

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Prebble calls time on illustrious career

Champion jockey Brett Prebble announced his retirement this week after an outstanding riding career that spanned more than three decades.

Prebble rode more than 2000 winners including 37 at Group 1 level including the Melbourne Cup (Green Moon, 2012), Golden Slipper (Crystal Lily, 2010) and Caulfield Cup (Incentivise, 2021).

He rode successfully in Hong Kong for 16 years, finishing runner-up on the premiership six times and won three Hong Kong International Sprints, Champions Mile, Champions Sprint Prize, and a Hong Kong Derby. He also rode major race winners in Singapore and Japan.

“It’s a real mix of emotions, but I know the time is right,’’ Prebble said. “I’ve had the most incredible career.

“It’s not lost on me just how fortunate I am to leave my time in the saddle a fit, healthy, happy and content 46-year-old.’’

Prebble said he would focus his energies on his successful horse racing gear manufacturing business, Persuader International.

• Shayne O’Cass’s tips and inside mail for Randwick on Saturday

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Vale Rosalie Crispe

My heartfelt condolences to close friend and racing expert Gary Crispe with the passing of his wife, Rosalie, following a long illness.

Rosalie’s funeral service will be held next Wednesday at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Canberra from 1.30pm with a wake in her honour at the Canberra Southern Cross Club from 4.30pm.

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Bush sprinter’s Compelling case for Kosciuszko

Bush flying machine Compelling Truth continued his rich vein of form by winning the Cannonball by nearly seven lengths at Dubbo on Wednesday.

The Mack Griffith-trained Compelling Truth, a superbly-bred gelding by champion sire I Am Invincible out of Group 1 winner Speak Fondly, has won his past three starts by huge margins running fast times and improving his overall record to six wins from 13 starts.

TAB Fixed Odds have inserted Compelling Truth in at $26 for the $2 million The Kosciuszko (1200m) at Royal Randwick on The Everest Day in spring. Front Page, who is chasing a hat-trick of Kosciuszko wins, is the $4.50 favourite.

Originally published as Racing Confidential: Five stars in contention for Horse of the Year

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