Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day

Global attention turned to Australia last Saturday as Day 2 of The Championships from Randwick became the first 10-race card to be taken by World Pool from any single venue worldwide.

It was a fitting occasion for one of the performances of the year as the Ciaron Maher-trained Pride Of Jenni went more than 100 metres clear in the middle stages of the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), holding on late under a daring Declan Bates ride to score by almost seven lengths over fellow Group 1 winners Via Sistina, Mr Brightside, Cascadian and Kovalica.

With that effort the talk of the racing world, it took a very special story to wrest World Pool Moment of the Day honours away from her. And yet, there was one emotional journey that pulled at the heartstrings to the extent that it was judged the card's best moment.

The AUD$1 million Polytrack Provincial-Midway Championships Final (1400m) may have been the only non-Pattern race on the card, but there were tears aplenty as Territory Express confirmed his status as one of Australia's most promising horses with a scintillating victory under young apprentice Zac Lloyd.

Trainer Paul Niceforo, originally from Katherine in the Northern Territory, has only four horses in his Kembla Grange stable and continued training despite suffering a stroke and two heart attacks late last year.

Now, Niceforo - who learned his craft from storied drover Len Cant and legendary horseman Bart Cummings - is looking towards a potential clash with Pride Of Jenni in the G1 Cox Plate (2040m), won last year by Hong Kong's Romantic Warrior.

"Look out Cox Plate, here we come," a teary Niceforo said. "I've been around a long time but I've never had a horse as good as this bloke. Just the way he moves, he's so special and words can't explain just what this means."

It is not often that Katherine or Kembla Grange are put on the global stage, particularly in racing, but the World Pool Moment of the Day ensured that Niceforo, his team and Territory Express put both towns up in lights abroad.

With Territory Express' win named the World Pool Moment of the Day, groom Christine Duffy was presented with a cheque for AUD$8,000.

Duffy has experienced a lot in racing - she looked after inaugural The Everest winner Redzel, while her jockey partner Robbie Dolan balances Group 1 wins with a music career that has seen him reach a wider audience.

However, the World Pool Moment of the Day award still left her in awe.

"It means so much," she said. "Me and Maryanne (Cram, Niceforo's partner) have been holding down the fort while Paul's been unwell. It's so good that we can all be back together now.

"He's a very special horse to me, as he is to us all. We've all put a lot of work into him and he's really starting to reap the rewards now."

Cram said of Duffy: "She deserves every cent. She's any employer's greatest asset. We are so lucky to have her."

Duffy is now in the running to win a trip to Hong Kong next year should Territory Express' victory be voted as the World Pool Moment of the Year in November.