Tony Ottobre has reaffirmed the Empire Rose Stakes as the ultimate target for Pride Of Jenni this spring, with the mare set to take another step towards her major goal in Saturday’s King Charles Stakes.

The owner of the champion mare joined Gareth Hall on SENTrack & RSN's Giddy Up ahead of the $5 million contest, outlining the thinking behind her spring campaign and revealing why a return to the Cox Plate was never seriously considered.

“No, not really. We tried it once before and it didn’t work out. Our goal is the Empire Rose, we’ve had some great success there and everything before is a build-up to that race,” Ottobre said.

“We need to plan her correctly into what we want her to win, and that’s the Empire Rose.”

Ottobre said the stable was focused on ensuring Pride Of Jenni arrived at Flemington in peak condition for the race that has delivered some of her greatest success, rather than chasing alternative targets.

Looking beyond the Melbourne spring, Ottobre also revealed a potential trip to Western Australia could be on the cards if the mare continues to perform well.

“I’d love to take her up to WA if she was going good. Western Australian racing fans would love to have a look at her and we would love it,” he said.

“We definitely would only go to WA for the one race. 1800m is where she’s at, 2000m is a bit too far for her.”

Track conditions will also be worth monitoring heading into Saturday, with Ottobre identifying a Good 4 surface as ideal for the mare, despite her ability to handle rain-affected ground.

“Good 4 is perfect for her. She has handled a soft and heavy track before, but ideally we would be on a dry track,” he said.

“She will start regardless if it’s a heavy track because we need this run under the belt and at the end of the day it’s a $5 million dollar race.”

When discussing the opposition, Ottobre identified Joe Pride's multiple Group 1 winner Ceolwulf as a major threat, placing him ahead of Autumn Glow among his concerns.

“I’m more worried about Ceolwulf than Autumn Glow, and I’m not trying to be disrespectful there,” he said.

With the King Charles Stakes serving as an important stepping stone towards the Empire Rose, Ottobre and connections will be hoping Pride Of Jenni can deliver the performance needed to keep her spring campaign firmly on track.

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