Moody’s cheeky message to Sheza Alibi critics as autumn plan revealed
Peter Moody has confirmed a four-run campaign for Sheza Alibi in the autumn, but “is open to advice”, after she came through her Golden Eagle nightmare unscathed, other than bruised pride.
Sheza Alibi has been in the paddock for a week and will be set for the Futurity, All-Star Mile and Australian Cup in Melbourne before heading to the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick in April.
“It’s the perfect progression from 1400, to a mile and 2000m, so I hope it meets with the approval of all those guys who want to help me train her,” Moody said. “She got through the Eagle alright, other than having nothing go right in the race.
“We have come home, licked our wounds, and will look to next year and let her take on the best and show how good she is.”
Sheza Alibi won the Makybe Diva Stakes after chasing Autumn Glow home in the Winx Stakes but it was her defeats in the Might And Power Stakes and Golden Eagle that set racing social media alight.
The debate surrounding the Golden Eagle has obviously worn thin with Moody, who said he wouldn’t want Luke Nolen to do anything differently.
“That’s racing,” Moody said of the race. “Sometimes you get beaten.”
It’s time to let racing’s superstars clash
There needs to be more days like Champions Day in Australian racing, but it can only happen with agreement among states to program races to give the best a chance to meet the best.
We saw Tempted, Autumn Glow and Cosmic Crusader on show at their preferred trips on the final day of a wonderful Flemington carnival. It showcases how good our racing is, but we need to see it more often.
The best trainers, jockeys and horses should meet a few more times a year.
The commercial reality of funding models built around racefields fees means NSW and Victoria want to have good racing on bigger days in the other states. You need the punting dollar to be bet on your state’s racing rather than across the border.
It is not a one-way street, as many would think, with the All Star Mile and Australian Cup moved back in the autumn to take advantage of the premium racing in Sydney.
Spring is when racing gets its biggest audience and, therefore, revenue.
We can agree on the biggest races of the spring, so let’s have programs that deliver horses to these races from different formlines and at their peak.
The desire to stop horses crossing state borders has to be let go. It was great to see Warwoven win the Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas, Proxima Dea win the Spring Champion Stakes and the VRC Oaks and Autumn Glow finally make her way to Melbourne to win the Champions Mile after a couple of Group 1 wins in Sydney.
Sheza Alibi coming to the Golden Eagle for a grand final that went pear-shaped was good for racing – driving interest.
There is an obvious change that needs to be made for the autumn in Sydney, which is a hangover from when there were two Sydney clubs.
Running the Tancred Stakes before The Championships makes no sense. Next year could see Point Of Law, Aeliana, Sir Delius and Proxima Dea take on the 2400m test, so get the timing right.
It should be like the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in England, which is run at the end of July. It is a meeting point for all comers.
Move the Tancred to Anzac Day, and it would give the Derby and Oaks winners the chance to test themselves against the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Sydney Cup horses from The Championships.
It is also a better program to get horses to that trip, and offer another feature day to finish the carnival.
VRC should consider investing in an outside false rail
The Victoria Racing Club had more than 300,000 people walk through the gates during a marvellous Melbourne Cup week, so it has funds to make the racing better, particularly down the straight.
Talk of moving the Derby back in trip to 2000m to save its Group 1 status should be shelved, they just need to fix the start. A chute to offer a 2300m Derby start as proposed by the legendary Bart Cummings more than 20 years ago would continue the tradition of testing stamina.
It would also mean the Derby winner would still qualify for the Melbourne Cup, something that has been lost in the discussion about shortening the Blue Ribbon.
The straight racing offers a unique challenge for the VRC. It is common practice for the staff to aerate the outside four metres of the straight before meetings.
This is to make the track to make a section inferior to the rest of the surface.
It is done because of the traffic that uses the outside section of the track for trackwork and moving equipment, which is what happens at most Australian tracks. But most tracks don’t have a straight that uses the section regularly on race day.
The effect was seen best with Photograph, Joliestar and Tempted on Saturday, when that section of the track was quicksand.
There are two fixes here. Firstly, put the barriers towards the inside fence rather than the outside fence, it would allow jockeys to make a decision if they want to be towards the outside. With the barriers near the outside rail, those drawn wide can be directed to the inferior area.
The other fix is to have a false rail, which takes the area out of commission for the final 400m. They move the inside rail, so why not the outside?
It could take a four-metre section off the racing area and supply an even surface for straight racing. It’s not that hard.
One for the punters
Accredited made a good return to racing on Melbourne Cup day and it was a similar run to last year when he backed up to be runner-up in the Hunter, which he gets into on the same mark as 12 months ago.
One from the stewards
Swordplay will not be ridden by an apprentice again after Saturday. Amber Riddell told stewards: “Swordplay became uncontrollable and veered in towards the running rail. She said that, as a consequence, the mare became very unbalanced and lost ground abruptly while she was endeavouring to bring it under control.” Bjorn Baker’s assistant Luke Hilton was told Swordplay would have to barrier trial before racing again and the mare must be ridden by a senior rider.
One for the bookies
Golden Eagle runner-up Decorum has been effectively taken out of handicap racing without winning a race. He was a 90-rater before running fourth in the Silver Eagle and then going down in the photo to Skyhook in the Grand Final. He is now rated 110 in NSW, compare that to Skyhook, who beat him twice, and went from 113 to 116. Decorum is now eight kilos closer to Skyhook on rating.
One for the futures
King Of Light continues to impress in the West. He looks the one to beat in the Railway Stakes, and the $3.50 could be luxury, considering Cosmic Crusader and Buckaroo, the next two in the market, are unlikely to be there.
