MORE Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate glory awaits champion trainer Ciaron Maher in the spring after he added two more Group 1 triumphs to his imposing record at Randwick on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Maher won his third $2 million Sydney Cup when his imported stayer Circle Of Fire, with Italian born jockey Andrea Atzeni in the saddle scored an impressive victory in the 3200 metre staying contest.
Bold front-running mare Pride Of Jenni, ridden by Declan Bates eclipsed the win of Circle Of Fire running her rivals ragged to win the $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes by more than six lengths.
Maher was over the moon following the two Group 1 victories.
"It's really hard to comprehend the two wins at the elite level," Maher told The Standard. "I thought both horses would be hard to beat but to win races in the fashion they did is amazing.
"We've got to think of big Group 1 races like the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate in the spring for Circle Of Fire and Pride Of Jenni on the back of the Sydney Cup and Queen Elizabeth wins."
The Winslow training export gave credit to both winning jockeys following the wins.
"Andrea's great mate Stefano Chefchi sadly passed away due to a race fall earlier this month," Maher said. "Andrea dedicated the win to Stefano. It was a very emotional time as Stefano's parents were on-course to join in the win with Andrea.
"The winning ride by Declan on Pride Of Jenni was phenomenal. He has a wonderful understanding of the mare and he just allowed her to bowl along in front and her rivals couldn't catch her. It would be the most amazing win I've seen in my time in racing."
Pride Of Jenni, who has won three Group 1 races took her prize money to more than $8.6 million with Saturday's victory while Circle Of Fire picked up $1.3 million in stake money for his Sydney Cup win.