Benedetta loving the country life in Brisbane's north

By Jordan Gerrans

With fresh legs and enjoying life in an environment that mirrors her home stable, trainer Jason Warren feels Group 1-winning mare Benedetta is ready to pounce in Queensland this year.

Benedetta was a Sunshine State visitor back in 2024 and had one run during the carnival, placing eighth in the Stradbroke Handicap.

The run in Queensland’s showpiece event followed on from a campaign where she claimed the Group 1 Goodwood in Adelaide.

This time around, Warren had his stable star in Queensland about a fortnight ago in preparation for Saturday's Doomben 10,000.

Doomben’s time-honoured sprint event is likely to just be the start of her busy campaign during the carnival.

Warren believes Benedetta was not at her best last year and she is much better placed to make her presence felt in 2025.

“We wanted to come up here with fresh legs this year,” Warren said on Tuesday morning.

“We came up for the Stradbroke last year, but it was quite a taxing journey for her.

“By the time we travelled across to Adelaide, back to Melbourne and then flew to Toowoomba, it was quite a trip. She probably didn’t arrive as good as we would have hoped.

“She was probably at the end of a long prep whereas this year we’ve really targeted the Queensland Group 1s.

“We have got here on fresh legs, being only four runs into her preparation. She is more of a seasoned mare now and a seasoned traveller.”

Warren’s boom sprinter also stayed in ‘town’ last year. 

Following the galloper's winter carnival experience in 2024, Warren has opted to head further north this time around with the mare being stabled at Deagon in Brisbane’s north. 

She has been looked after by local trainer Steele Ryan in recent weeks with Warren having a close connection with the Deagon trainer through his mate Chris Anderson. 

Warren uses Graebar Park to train his team of gallopers in Victoria.

It is a private training facility that offers a tranquil setting for race-ready horses, allowing for tailored training regimens.

He hopes the quieter Deagon lifestyle will suit Benedetta better than being based at a busy track in Brisbane.

“We wanted to replicate that as best we could and out here we’re able to get her out to a day yard and she’s just happy in this more country environment,” Warren said.

“It is nice out here at Deagon and she is able to get her head down in the day yards.

“It is very much an environment that Benedetta is used to down at home. She has settled in really well here.”

The daughter of Hellbent is as well prepared for Saturday as Warren could hope.

She trialled well at Doomben last week before working on the course proper on Tuesday morning.

Warren noted Saturday’s distance, jockey booking of Jamie Melham, draw of barrier eight and addition of blinkers as creating the ideal scenario for the mare.

“She handled the soft surface well,” the trainer said of her time at Doomben this month.

“We took her to Doomben again on Tuesday morning for another little pipe opener.

“It’s going to be a deep enough race on Saturday, it always is – it’s one of the premier Group 1s in Queensland and it’s good to be part of it.”

Following Saturday’s sprint, there could be a number of Queensland targets ahead for this year’s Group 1 William Reid Stakes runner-up.

“There’s four Group 1s up here that we’ve got on target for her, it’s just a matter of how far into the winter we go,” he explained.

“The Doomben 10,000 is our starting point for the Queensland winter, but if she runs well, she’ll go to the Kingsford Smith next start and possibly the Stradbroke after that.

“Whether or not we stay on for the Tattersall’s Tiara is an option, but she’ll tell us.”

There is a chance Benedetta is joined in Queensland by promising stablemate Flyer who is owned by Rosemont Stud.

The three-year-old filly ran in the money at Group 3 level at her last start in Adelaide last Saturday.

With more than $2 million in career earnings following eight victories from just 20 attempts, it is fair to say Benedetta is a special horse to the Warren team.

“A mare like this is everything for a small stable,” he added.

“She’s not only a delight to deal with, but she’s also a high-class mare that always gives her all.

“When you’ve got a horse that goes to the races and she’s finished in the money almost every time she’s gone around, you just can’t fault her.”

As of Thursday afternoon, Benedetta is a $5 shot in Saturday’s Doomben 10,000.