Thirty-six years since that epic 1988 Australian Cup, it would seem another racing phenomenon has emerged in Pride Of Jenni, a mare now garnering support not unlike Vo Rogue.
Pride Of Jenni has served it up to her opposition by leading in staggering times against the cream of Australian racehorses.
In the All-Star Mile, Pride Of Jenni left her opposition standing when she bounded away before the turn, proving that she will, like Vo Rogue, be highly competitive in this year’s TAB Australian Cup.
Vo Rogue’s longtime jockey, Cyril Small, can see similarities between the two horses.
“They can both go out and run and run hard and manage to stave off their opposition,” he said.
“It’s an ability rarely seen that horses can run extraordinary sectional times and yet keep going.”
Pride Of Jenni’s jockey, Irish-born Declan Bates, agrees with Small that the mare has freakish tendencies that are rarely seen in racehorses.
“In her younger days it took a little bit of training and settling, but once she matured she has become the fastest horse I’ve ever ridden in my career. She’s strong, she’s tough and just beats her rivals through sheer speed,” Bates said.
Both Small and Bates agree that their respective mounts were a pleasure to ride, as all they had to do was rate their horse in front and then they would largely do the rest.
Even experts in equine health are at a loss to explain why horses like Vo Rogue and Pride Of Jenni have the constitution and ability to master a racing style that so few horses have.
Could their endurance stem from a similar trait of another famous mare, Makybe Diva? One veterinarian suggested that Makybe Diva’s three Melbourne Cup victories were aided by her “huge lungs and an ever-so-slow heartbeat that helped her racing style no end when it came to the endurance of races over two miles.”
Whatever it is, all eyes will be on the TAB Australian Cup this weekend, a race that Leigh Jordon, Executive General Manager – Racing, says will be a ‘titanic battle’.
“As well as Pride Of Jenni, we will have the cream of Australia’s most brilliant weight-for-age horses chasing her.
“It will be one of the most compelling 2000m races of the autumn and a battle of endurance.
“Sadly, because of injury Gold Trip will not be in the race. He would have certainly relished a hard run 2000m at Flemington.”
We can only hope that it is as incredible as that 1988 edition of the race after which even the trainer of the winner heaped praise on the freakish Vo Rogue.
“I was fortunate to have seen Phar Lap as a young man, and I must say, I think Vo Rogue was the next best horse,” Jim Cerchi said.
Such accolades highlight Vo Rogue’s stature in racing history, a position that Pride Of Jenni could ascend to if she emerges victorious in the 2024 TAB Australian Cup.