Princess Jenni lives up to her name

3 min read
It was an emotional victory on Friday night at Moonee Valley for Tony and Lynn Ottobre and their son Mick when Princess Jenni (NZ) (High Chaparral {IRE}) stormed to the lead to win her first stakes in the Group 3 Dynamic Print Group Alexandra Stakes.

Known for their runners named Jennifer, the filly is the latest in the Ottobres’ stable named after their daughter Jennifer who heartbreakingly lost her fight with cancer in 2015.

“The good horses we do call Jenni after our daughter who passed away in 2015 and we hope to keep her memory alive by naming her horses after her,” Tony Ottobre told Racing.com after the race.

“The good horses we do call Jenni after our daughter who passed away in 2015 and we hope to keep her memory alive by naming her horses after her." - Tony Ottobre

“This has been an absolute thrill and it gives us something to look forward to because when you lose a child, it’s pretty devastating. Our horses give us hope, they give us comfort as well. It’s great to see them run and especially when they win a Group race, it’s fantastic."

Lynn and Tony Ottobre

Princess Jenni has paid off her connections’ faith in her since finishing a close second in her debut in October.

She showed that they had done well giving her the important name in her second start two weeks later when going off as the favourite at Geelong. She was never in any danger of losing that time, taking control in the straight to easily win by six lengths.

Her only blip came last time out when finishing seventh in the Group 2 TAB Kewney Stakes but she more than made up for that on Friday night.

Early potential proves true

Ridden by Damien Oliver, the filly showed her versatility here when sitting farther back than she had in her previous victory with only a few horses beat early on. Oliver let her pick off horses as they entered the final 600 metre mark before swinging her wide entering the straight.

With a target in front of her in the form of the leading Angelic Ruler (Universal Ruler), Princess Jenni took nearly every inch of the run to catch the leader but was able to get there in the end for her first stakes win.

“They don’t win maidens the way she did unless they’ve got a lot of potential,” Damien Oliver told Racing.com. “She was very impressive the day she won her maiden and it’s just taken her stable a little while to get her back to that sort of level but she’s certainly heading in the right direction now.”

“They don’t win maidens the way she did unless they’ve got a lot of potential." - Jockey Damien Oliver

This victory keeps her connections’ plan on track for a tilt at a run in Sydney according to David Brideoake’s assistant Alex Woodhams. As long as she comes out of this race well, she will be heading to the Group 3 Adrian Knox Stakes at Royal Randwick during The Championships on April 6.

A NZ$120,000 buy at Karaka Princess Jenni is the first foal from five-time winner Glitzabeel (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), who is a granddaughter of Group 2 winner Precious Glitter (Danehill {USA}).

Glitzabeel also hails from the family of Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed Beauty Watch (Belong To Me {USA}), who is the dam of Group 3 winner Top Of My List (High Chaparral). Glitzabeel’s unnamed 2-year-old Tavistock (NZ) (Montjeu {Ire}) filly was bought for $30,000 at last year’s Magic Millions National Yearling Sale and she foaled a filly by Power (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) in 2018.

Princess Jenni was a NZ$120,000 Karaka purchase