Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) is a step closer to returning to the racetrack after an impressive jump out win at Cranbourne on Monday morning.
With Craig Newitt in the saddle, the seven-year-old and reigning Australian Horse of the Year bowled along in her customary front-running style over 1000-metres winning the heat by four lengths.
It was her first official outing since the Gr.1 Champions Mile (1600m) over the Melbourne Cup Carnival where she bled from both nostrils.
“Her prep has been pretty smooth to date and we wanted to see a good showing today and she’s pleased us up until now and she was quite impressive again this morning,” Maher said.
“You are never really surprised with Jenni, it’s just good to see her back bowling along out doing what she loves doing.
“Froggy said she gave him a good feel and she seemed to pull up pretty well.
“She had a bit of a blow and she will take improvement off it but all signs are pretty positive.”
Maher identified the Gr.1 Queen of the Turf (1600m) at Randwick on April 12 as a possible kick-off point.
“Normally she has a couple of trials and I would say that is still probably going to be the case,” Maher admitted.
“She seems her same old self and hopefully it was just a little glitch there and she can go right back to business .”
The $10 million earner is a $15 chance with Sportsbet for the Queen of the Turf Stakes.