Cox Plate unlikely as Moody plots Golden Eagle path for Sheza Alibi

Sheza Alibi is set for a highly targeted spring, with trainer Peter Moody all but ruling out a full Melbourne campaign in favour of a Golden Eagle assault.

The star filly is expected to have just one run in Victoria, with the timing of the Flemington carnival making it difficult to fit into a program centred around the $10 million Randwick feature.

“I think the timing of the Golden Eagle all but rules out the Flemington carnival unfortunately,” Moody said on his Ladbrokes podcast, Moody On The Mic.

“It would make it near-on impossible to then come home to Victoria and run seven days later.”

That means a much-anticipated clash with Autumn Glow is unlikely to eventuate this spring, with the pair now more likely to meet in the autumn.

Moody admitted the decision to prioritise the Golden Eagle over a Cox Plate tilt came down to prizemoney and race conditions, with the Randwick feature offering a lucrative opportunity against her own age group.

“That’s what I’ve put in front of Fred (owner Fred Noffke) and it is a monetary decision when you’re racing your own age group for $10 million, where in the Cox Plate you’re taking on allcomers from all over the world for $6 million,” he said.

“(But) if Fred said to me next week ‘Hey Moods, I want you headed towards a Cox Plate’, I’m not going to talk him out of it.”

Moody said the appeal of the Golden Eagle also lies in the conditions, with Sheza Alibi already proven at Randwick over 1500m.

“I haven’t won a Cox Plate, I’ve only had two runners in it, and I think I ran fourth and seventh, so I would dearly love to chase a Cox Plate.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to win a Golden Eagle, you get $5.7 million and, shit, it’s hard to get with a pick and shovel, $5.7 million.”

Now in Queensland for a spell, Sheza Alibi has continued to impress her trainer with her laid-back nature and ability to thrive in new environments.

“We took her home Saturday night, she went straight into her box, had a drink, had a good feed, ate all her hay and didn’t turn a hair.”

“Sunday night we put her on a truck to Queensland and when she arrived up there, the team sent me a video. She walked off, had a drink, a feed and got stuck into her hay and was out grazing in the paddock Monday afternoon without a worry in the world.”

“She’s just quite extraordinary.”