Jockey Declan Bates teamed up with Pride Of Jenni during a gallop at Caulfield, with the duo working off excess weight ahead of their partnership in the All-Star Mile.
Ciaron Maher brought a compact yet elite team of horses for a gallop at Caulfield on Tuesday morning, featuring Pride Of Jenni as she gears up for a fresh start in the Group 1 All-Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington on March 7.
Bates, sidelined from riding since December 6 following an injury during a barrier mishap at the Ballarat jump-outs, joined the mare for the session as he regains condition for a potential comeback on the racetrack, likely at Terang this Friday.
The Irish jockey sustained a fractured pelvis and sacrum in the barrier incident, describing it as ‘a nasty one’.
“It’s a frustrating injury because you can’t give it any relief,” Bates said.
“Sitting down you’re putting pressure on it and even lying in bed you’re putting pressure on it.
“That’s why in the first month you don’t feel like you’re healing at all, so I was a little bit worried with the injury at first, but once it started coming good, in the last month especially, there has been rapid improvement and luckily, I’ll be back ahead of schedule.”
Bates has resumed trackwork riding for just over a week and handled ‘eight or nine’ horses at the Cranbourne jump-outs on Monday.
He mentioned his eagerness to return to race riding and sharpen his fitness prior to reuniting with Pride Of Jenni in the All-Star Mile.
“My fitness needs to tighten up a bit, but that’s going to come as I go along,” Bates said.
“I was keen to get back racing two weeks before the All-Star Mile and that way it gives me a good two weeks of race riding before then.
“Like me, she’s got a bit of fitness to come on, but she feels her usual self, enthusiastic in her work, and that’s what I wanted to see.
“It’s good to have a nice horse to look forward to. You always want to get back as quick as possible and when you have a nice horse it really helps the motivation to get back as strong and healthy as possible.”
Bates has partnered Pride Of Jenni in 19 of her 43 outings, securing four Group 1 triumphs, among them the mare’s standout success in the 2024 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick. Bettors looking ahead to the All-Star Mile can explore options via Australian betting sites.
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