The Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman-trained Sheza Alibi will get a relatively easy initiation at 2000m when she runs at Caulfield.
Group 1 contests are never easy, but Sheza Alibi will have only five opponents when she runs in the Might And Power on Saturday.
It should be the ideal way for Sheza Alibi to get a taste at racing over 2000m while also giving her trainers a guide as to whether she will handle the trip in the future.
And, with luck, it won’t be as taxing as racing in a bigger field with a $10 million carrot dangling in front of Moody and Coleman and owner Fred Noffke in the shape of The Golden Eagle (1500m) at Randwick on October 31.
Coleman said, condition wise, that she was excited to see Sheza Alibi back at the races on Saturday after her impressive victory in the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 12.
And just as excitedly, Coleman is looking forward to seeing Sheza Alibi at the 2000m journey on Saturday.
“It will be interesting (the trip), and my gut feel is she will relish it,” Coleman said.
“Until they actually do it under race pressure, you always have a little question mark in the back of your head, but she has given us every indication that she’s going to appreciate it.”
After Saturday, the plan is to drop back to 1500m of the Golden Eagle.
Saturday’s race was chosen as it was dual edged.
Moody didn’t want to have to ‘train’ Sheza Alibi after her Makybe Diva win and go straight to the Golden Eagle, while it will give the team the chance to look at the mare at 2000m.
It will also provide insight as to whether Sheza Alibi will stretch further later on.
Coleman said Sheza Alibi was a pleasure to train and knows when to be in trackwork mode or race mode.
“She’s got a fantastic will to win which all the good horses have,” Coleman said.
“She’s quite funny. She’s quite relaxed in her trackwork and she doesn’t go out there and run amazing times every day and look like a champion on the track.
“She just goes about her business every day and gets the job done, saving it for race day.”
A dual Group 1 winner at 2000m, Coleman has a lot of respect for the Chris Waller-trained Birdman, although she is not taking any of the remaining four opponents lightly.
“It will be interesting to see how the race sets up,” Coleman said.
“He (Birdman) is a quality horse, and we have a lot of respect for him.”
