A stunning late burst from behind for Harmonious Senora has delivered jockey Dean Yendall and trainer Kylie Vella a memorable win in the 2025 bet365 Mildura Cup on its 101st edition for the $100,000 prize.
Despite drifting back in the field early and appearing buried on the fence, the five year old chestnut mare surged through traffic and came clear in the final stages of the 1400 metre feature, rewarding punters at double-figure odds.
Harmonius Senora won the 2025 Wangaratta Cup with a different jockey and trainer, while her rider for Mildura in Yendall pulled off his fourth country victory in the 2024-25 season.
The 51-year-old jockey captured win number 2800 for himself while also claiming his sixth Mildura Cup.
“I was just hoping that everything was going to pan out good, that I was finding the right horses and was able to get to the outside when I needed to,” said Yendall.
“We ended up a bit further back than anticipated because they went pretty quick.
“So, I was set up by a hot speed for to run on from at the back.
“She gave me a great ride today, she went well.”
Marking his sixth cup win, though the first in recent seasons following injury, Yendall returned with a bang backed by the Vella stable as Kylie’s husband Steve was unable to race.
“It was great to get the call out from Steve to ride the horse because he couldn’t ride the right weight,” said Yendall.
“Too light for him.”
Kylie Vella, soaking in the moment with emotion said it’s a proud moment in her storied career as a horse trainer.
“It’s amazing, actually,” she said.
“I just said to someone, I think life’s complete for me,
“I know it’s only Mildura, but it’s special.”
“There was a bit of concern that she’d got back a little bit and was stuck in there on the fence, but she was obviously the best horse in the race, so I guess we had nothing to worry about.”
The stable only had Harmonious Senora in work for seven weeks, but the mare has adored her time in Mildura.
“We’ve been here the two weeks,” said Vella.
“She’s just thrived, and her work’s been amazing.
“My husband (Steve) does all the work on her and he was very confident.”
Mildura holds a special place for Vella and her family who treat the region as home during winter.
“We generally come up here every winter and spend one or two months up here, the friends we stay with are our second family,” she said.
The win is a personal milestone for Vella, who has previously trained a Seymour Cup winner but ranked this well on par.
“We’re only a small stable, so all of our owners are like family,” she said.
“This is up there, probably the pinnacle of my training career.
“We really did think with a run today that going forward we’d like to sort of look for a listed race in town, heading into the spring.
“She might have a week or two off, then we’ll set up for something in town.”
Race favourite Dubai Poet trained by Michael Hickmott with Todd Pannell as jockey placed third after jostling lead place for the majority of the race with Favourite Child and Easy Campese.
Hard To Cross trained under the Patrick and Michelle Payne stable jockeyed by Neil Farley placed second.
But the cup belonged to Yendall, Vella and Harmonious Senora.
