“Sure enough, it probably cost him a length or a length-and-a-half to get to the outside, but he won by three lengths. The penny dropped on all of the locals that maybe this man wasn’t just a silly walker of tracks,” he said.
“We have come a long way,” Ellis notes, citing champion jockeys such as Craig Williams and recently retired Damien Oliver who realised that walking tracks can mean the difference between winning and losing.
Ellis recently helped make history again when he was contacted by Pride Of Jenni’s owner Tony Ottobre at the beginning of the autumn and asked to do the track walking for their champion mare.
After Pride Of Jenni’s success in Melbourne, Ellis headed to Sydney to follow her. Driving there rather than flying – “Some of the airlines don’t let you fly with my one-metre track walking stick because of the metal prod at the end of the apparatus” – gave him the opportunity to call in to a lot of racetracks on the Hume Highway, continuing his research and showing his complete dedication to his craft.
Upon reaching Sydney, Ellis briefed Declan Bates about the contenders in the Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and emphasised the importance of keeping a distance of five or six metres from the inside rail – the prime lane to aim for.
“As we all know, she bolted in,” said Ellis. ‘Bolted in’ is an understatement, as the mare’s commanding performance in the 2000m race will be remembered as a triumph for the ages.
While many anticipated her leading the race at a brisk pace, her dominance surpassed all expectations.
Within the first 400 metres, she surged ahead by six lengths, a lead that ballooned to 10 lengths by the 1400-metre mark. At 800 metres Pride Of Jenni had extended her advantage to over 30 lengths and by the time she reached the 600-metre mark, some estimates placed her a staggering 100 metres – or roughly 40 lengths – ahead of her nearest competitor, and she showed no signs of slowing down.
Guided skillfully by Bates, Pride Of Jenni maintained a blistering pace that paid off with an incredible win.
The spectacular victory even caught the imagination of people outside of racing, something that Ellis finds satisfying.
Ellis, an avid runner in his spare time, finds enjoyment in walking as well. He draws parallels between racehorses and athletes, seeing their shared qualities. His walking is undoubtedly influenced by the countless kilometers he’s traversed across racecourses worldwide.
“I went to an athletics meeting one night after this race and all the guys there wanted to talk about was Pride Of Jenni. It was gratifying that people a step away from the sport were able to appreciate a good race again,” he said.
