‘JEN AIR’: Pride Of Jenni’s owner Tony Ottobre’s bold plan to buy jet for racing industry

Pride Of Jenni’s entrepreneur owner Tony Ottobre is planning to buy a jet – and name it JenAir – so Australia’s racing industry can fly horses the best horses around the land in quick time.

Pride Of Jenni has taken Tony Ottobre to cloud nine – now the wealthy owner wants to soar through the clouds.

Ottobre has exclusively revealed to Racenet his incredible plan to buy a jet for Australia’s racing industry, which he would name “JenAir” in honour of his late daughter Jennifer.

All of Ottobre and his wife Lynn’s horses carry the name ‘Jenni’, in honour of Jennifer who died from a brain tumour in 2015.

JenAir would be operated by Ottobre and transport horses around Australia, with the owner charging other owners and trainers for tickets to fly their horses.

It was an idea partially sparked by Ottobre’s initial blueprint to hire a private charter flight to fly Pride Of Jenni from Sydney back to Melbourne for next week’s Cox Plate mission after she races in Saturday’s Group 1 King Charles III Stakes at Randwick.

Trainer Ciaron Maher and owner Tony Ottobre hold the All-Star Mile trophy after Pride Of Jenni’s victory in the race in March. Picture: Reg Ryan / Racing Photos

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Ottobre was prepared to fork out $150,000 for a private flight for the Australian Racehorse of The Year to travel in comfort and in quick time ahead of the Cox Plate, but trainer Ciaron Maher convinced him the mare was better off sticking to her familiar road trip regime.

Nevertheless, Ottobre said he was deadly serious about buying or leasing a jet which could be used by the racing industry to streamline horse travel around the country.

“I am seriously looking into it and I’ve got someone looking at what sort of plane I would need and the costing and everything else,” Ottobre told Racenet.

“I have already got a name for it – JenAir.

“I want to buy or lease a plane and turn it into a business.

“What I am looking at is a plane that could carry about 16 horses.

“They (other owners and trainers) will share the cost when they want to use the plane for their horses.

“We have got horses going from Melbourne to Sydney and Brisbane to Sydney and everywhere else, really you should be able to put your horse on a flight and you would be there in no time.

“You potentially take away the discomfort of travelling a long way by road in a float.

“It’s the entrepreneur in me, I just can’t help myself.”

Tony and Lynn Ottobre. Picture: Kelly Barnes

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The last time $9m earner Pride Of Jenni turned up at Randwick she romped in by more than six lengths in an extraordinary Queen Elizabeth Stakes demolition where she led by so far mid-race that her rivals couldn’t even see her.

The three-time Group 1 winning freak mare is the $2.30 favourite for Saturday’s King Charles III Stakes at Randwick (1600m) before attempting to back up into the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley seven days later where she is the $4.50 second pick.

It will put another stunning exclamation mark in her glittering career if she can win one or both races.

Ottobre said he looked into paying $150,000 for Pride Of Jenni to be flown back to Melbourne for her Cox Plate mission on a private charter flight – but Maher convinced him to stick with the proven road-trip method.

“The ride of the century @decbates!”

Pride Of Jenni leads by a huge margin and wins the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes in a bold front running display, in one of the most epic wins at Randwick ever!@[e-mail]/33Ejus8VL3

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 13, 2024

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“It was going to cost $150,000 but the price wasn’t the issue – the King Charles and the Cox Plate both have a first prize of $3 million,” Ottobre said.

“If you are lucky enough to win both, the $150,000 flight cost is small change from $6 million.

“What I was looking at was a charter flight which would fly specifically from Brisbane to Sydney to pick up Pride Of Jenni, then take her to Melbourne and the flight would then head back to Brisbane.

“It would have meant ‘Jenni’ got back to Melbourne in quick time, probably back in her stable only three hours after she had left.

“But Ciaron is a real thinker and he has timed the float trip down to perfection.

“Ciaron said he knew exactly what he was doing with floating my horse by road, he wasn’t 100 per cent sure with the flight.

“What he has been doing with my horse is a proven method, so we have struck with that.”

Originally published as ‘JEN AIR’: Pride Of Jenni’s owner Tony Ottobre’s bold plan to buy jet for racing industry