The Pride Of Jenni dilemma: ‘The terrifying part is there is not much you can do against her’, trained Les Bridge says

The maestro Les Bridge, trainer of Celestial Legend, admits it is ‘terrifying’ trying to plot the downfall of Pride Of Jenni in the Group 1 $5 million King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

The maestro Les Bridge, trainer of Celestial Legend, admits it is “terrifying” trying to plot the downfall of Pride Of Jenni in the Group 1 $5 million King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

The Hall of Fame trainer drew on more than six decades of racing experience to pay Pride Of Jenni the ultimate compliment.

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“I’ve seen three great frontrunning horses in my time – Vo Rogue, Might And Power and now Pride Of Jenni,’’ Bridge said.

“The terrifying part is there is not much you can do against her. If you are trying to go with her, then you are not doing your horse any favours.

“I can tell you, I know from 60 years of experience, if you ride the majority of horses out of their comfort zone then they can’t win.’’

Horse of the Year Pride Of Jenni, described by sporting broadcasting icon Bruce McAvaney as having “magnetic” appeal, adopts tearaway “catch-me-if-you-can” tactics that makes her so exciting to watch.

“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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Pride Of Jenni produced arguably the one of the greatest frontrunning efforts of all time to win the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Randwick last autumn and she returns to the scene of that famous win trying to complete the “royal double” in the King Charles III Stakes.

Bridge has put the blinkers on Celestial Legend, winner of two Group 1 races over the Randwick 1600m course – the Doncaster Mile and Randwick Guineas – in the hope it helps the grey begin faster and settle closer to the early lead.

“I’m going to tell my jockey, Blake Shinn, to have the horse fourth or fifth in the run and try not to let her get too far in front,’’ Bridge said.

“Btu all the jockeys behind her are in the same position which makes this race so fascinating.

“I think what they will do with Pride Of Jenni, they will get around that turn at the 1000m and that is where they will try to win the race.’’

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TAB Fixed Odds price assessors have Pride Of Jenni as the firming $1.95 favourite ahead of defending champ Fangirl at $3.90 with Celestial Legend rated a $13 chance.

Celestial Legend has been unplaced in both runs this spring so Bridge has gone for two significant chances for the grey – the blinkers go on for the first time and Shinn is the four-year-old’s new rider.

“His two runs this spring were a bit negative,’’ Bridge said.

“The first part of his races were no good, he was giving them too big a start. He was a bit lacklustre coming out of the barriers.

“We put the blinkers on his trial and I thought he went well. The only horses that finished in front of him were Everest horses.’’

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Bridge said Celestial Legend pleased Shinn in his recent barrier trial finishing fifth behind Lady Of Camelot over 1000m at Randwick.

“I thought he showed some of his old enthusiasm in the trial,’’ the trainer explained.

“Colts can often go one of two ways – they can get aggressive and be hard to handle or they go quiet.

“This horse has become so placid, he goes to sleep at the races, so the blinkers have gone on.

“I don’t know how she is going to go against Pride Of Jenni but I think he will run alright.’’