Former champion jockey Brent Thomson does not envy those who will be taking on Australia’s latest darling of the turf Pride Of Jenni this spring.
Pride Of Jenni makes her return in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday, the official opening meeting of the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
Thomson won four Cox Plates from his first four rides in the race during in the 1970’s, including three in a row, before heading to Europe for a successful career.
Returning to Australia, Thomson won countless feature races and rode against Vo Rogue, who like Pride Of Jenni, used to employ daring ‘catch me if you can’ tactics.
Thomson remembers well riding in races against Vo Rogue and famously partnered Dandy Andy when they overhauled the dashing front-runner in the 1988 Australian Cup at Flemington.
“Nothing was too eager to match strides with Vo Rogue when he used to get out in front by those big margins back then,” Thomson said.
“And I’m thinking she (Pride Of Jenni) might have a higher cruising speed, so it becomes a difficult decision when you’re trying to win and beat the type of horse that is a free going leader like she is.”
When Thomson first came to Australia, he was the stable rider for Colin Hayes, the grandfather of Mr Brightside’s trainers Ben, Will and J D Hayes.
His advice to Mr Brightside’s rider, and all jockeys in Saturday’s race, is to ride your horse.
“I suggest Craig can only ride him how he normally rides him,” Thomson said.
“They asked him to ride him forward (in the Australian Cup) and it failed and then they gave too big a start last time at Randwick.
“Somewhere in the middle might be the happy medium.”
These days Thomson does some work with the Ciaron Maher stable, riding a few horses in slow work to keep his fitness up.
He hasn’t been aboard Pride Of Jenni, leaving that to her regular rider and strapper Sammy, but has seen the mare in the flesh as she prepares for Saturday’s return.
“I’ve asked Sammy who rides her when I been down there, and she said she’s absolutely enjoying herself,” Thomson said.
“I only breeze into the stable and I’m out, but I’m sure they’re all pretty proud to have a mare like her in the stable.
“Everyone loves a very good horse.”
