Racing needs clashes, not cotton wool
Kudos to Peter Moody, Katherine Coleman and owner Fred Nofke for embracing the competition with their star mare Sheza Alibi.
They could have driven an hour down the Monash and tackled the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield next Saturday. Instead, they drove 10 hours up the Hume to take on Autumn Glow in the Winx Stakes and give racing fans the headline clash they wanted.
Ultimately, Sheza Alibi had her colours lowered, but she was far from disgraced. Autumn Glow was simply too sharp at 1400m, winning by a length and a half, and I reckon when they get to a mile Sheza Alibi can potentially return serve.
But the result is almost secondary to the bigger point.
Round 1 to the Glow! Great race 👏 pic.twitter.com/lzizXPFw0C
— Luke Marlow (@MarlowLuke) August 22, 2026
There are so bloody many options available to our best horses that trainers and owners can continually dodge the headline clashes. Moody, Coleman and Nofke did the opposite. They ran straight into the fire and embraced the competition.
Even better, they spent the week helping promote the prize fight. Moody openly discussed the challenge of taking on Autumn Glow, adding to the theatre and giving punters a reason to engage with the race well before the barriers opened.
That matters. Big clashes create interest. Interest creates eyeballs and wagering turnover, and ultimately that money flows back through an industry from which trainers, owners, jockeys and participants all benefit.
It’s imperative the connections of our star gallopers continue to embrace competition rather than avoid it. Racing is at its best when the best horses actually race each other.
Moody, Coleman and Nofke understood that this week. Racing was the beneficiary and, in the long run, participants will be too.
Sandown turns the corner after a tough winter
It was something of a lull week in Melbourne racing ahead of next Saturday’s Memsie Stakes, with the Carlyon Stakes headlining the card at Sandown and a disappointing number of scratchings taking some depth out of the meeting.
The Sandown track has had well-documented issues this winter, but there were encouraging signs on Saturday that it is starting to emerge from the colder months and turn the corner.
I walked the track on Friday and it presented significantly better than its Heavy 10 rating suggested. Importantly, the inside few lanes were back in play, which hasn’t consistently been the case on the Hillside circuit throughout winter.
That matters.
There needs to be an incentive for horses to push forward and set genuine tempos. Horses with tactical speed should ultimately be at an advantage in racing. They’re the ones doing the work early and, when the inside is chopped up or inferior, that advantage can quickly disappear.
Light winds on Saturday further helped those on speed and, as a general rule, I’d be forgiving of anything that settled back and was forced to cover ground wide.
The track itself raced much more like a Soft deck than a Heavy one. I was surprised stewards didn’t upgrade it during the meeting and I’m not entirely sure what data they were looking at to keep it in the Heavy range.
You also wonder how many of those race morning scratchings would have eventuated had connections known they were going to be racing on what was effectively a Soft track.
Either way, the bigger picture is positive. Sandown is pleasingly heading in the right direction and, with further improvement over the next few weeks, it should be in terrific shape when the Group 1 Moir Stakes rolls around.
Credit, too, to Sandown track manager Aidan Jolly, who is always incredibly forthcoming with his time and happy to provide insight into the track, its preparation and the challenges his team is dealing with. That sort of openness is valuable for punters and participants alike.
1000m horses for 1000m races
The specialist 1000m horses came to the fore in the Carlyon Stakes, filling three of the first four placings.
Cavalry Girl, Bazaball Rewarded and Beast Mode ran first, second and fourth respectively, reinforcing something that can sometimes be overlooked: 1000m is a specialist’s trip.
Carlyon Stakes | Cavalry Girl
“A mare at the top of her game!” Cavalry Girl explodes along the rail to win the Carlyon Stakes impressively ⭐️
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/HEhdpozFmy pic.twitter.com/Cp0SyJh0z8— Racing.com (@Racing) August 22, 2026
It’s a distance where pure speed, the ability to absorb pressure and being able to sustain a high cruising speed are crucial. Horses proven at the five furlongs generally have an advantage over those who are better suited at 1100m and 1200m, where the tempo and shape of races can be very different.
Cavalry Girl is absolutely airborne. She made it three wins on the bounce with another high-quality performance and has now earned her shot at the Group 1 Moir Stakes.
Importantly, the Moir is back at Sandown over the same 1000m course and distance. She’ll obviously face a significant rise in grade, but she’s a genuine 1000m speedster in outstanding form and deserves her chance against the best.
Dabernig has another rocket ready to launch
While we’re on Tom Dabernig, his stable star Oliveanotherday was back at the jump-outs at Caulfield on Tuesday and he went like an absolute rocket.
Caulfield Heath Jump Out 3 | Oliveanotherday
The talented sprinter wins a quality heat featuring Point Barrow, Treasurethe Moment, Belle Cheval, Sass Appeal and She’s A Hustler ⭐️ @dabernigracing
REPLAYS: https://t.co/LsZgS08a20
📺 Watch The Trial Show tonight for more pic.twitter.com/FrExWZyS5w— Racing.com (@Racing) August 19, 2026
The Wangoom winner looks destined for much better things this preparation, with Group 1 targets potentially on the agenda. And who knows, if he comes back and takes the next step, maybe even a cheeky Everest slot might enter the conversation?
He’s an exciting sprinter with a big campaign ahead, but his return is also a timely reminder to spare a thought for those who backed him on debut at Wangaratta.
He was one of the best things beaten you’ll ever see on a racetrack that day. Those punters knew what they were looking at, even if the result didn’t quite reflect it!
Are the cracks appearing in the 2YO form?
The strength of last season’s early Victorian two-year-old form looked questionable at the time, and are we now starting to see some of those cracks come to fruition?
There have been a few warning signs from the Blue Diamond form. Zambales finished fourth in the Diamond but was beaten on his merits in a maiden at Sandown on Wednesday, albeit a pretty handy maiden. Ghana’s Akan, who finished fifth in the Diamond, finds herself in a similar boat.
Then there’s Blue Diamond runner-up Closer To Free. He resumed as a heavily-backed favourite in a strong Vain Stakes last week but was ultimately pretty plain. For reference, Zambales, Ghana’s Akan and Closer To Free filled second, fourth and fifth behind Streisand in the Diamond.
Meanwhile, some of the later-season juvenile form is starting to look considerably stronger.
The Magic Millions National 2YO Classic could prove an important reference. The Next Episode won that race from Natural Fling, and Natural Fling returned at Caulfield last week and absolutely bolted in in the Group 3 Quezette Stakes by four lengths.
NATURAL FLING MAKES A MESS OF THEM ⭐
A brilliant first up win in the Group 3 Quezette!@LaneDamian @McevoyRacing pic.twitter.com/3x6wo3MfaH
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) August 15, 2026
Given there were already question marks over the strength of the early-season two-year-old form during the autumn, there’s every chance these later-developing types emerge as the dominant three-year-olds this spring.
It’s certainly not panic stations for the Blue Diamond horses just yet. They’ve only had one run back and there is plenty of spring ahead.
But at the very least, there’s a cloud starting to form over that form line. The next few weeks should tell us whether it blows over or turns into something much darker.
Fair ol’ day for Nathan McPherson
Fair ol’ day at Sale on Friday for Cranbourne trainer Nathan McPherson and his small team.
Three runners produced two $21 winners in Velvet City and Saxon Blood, while Youtellhimthat ran a handy fourth at $31.
There was a sprinkling of money around for all three, so you’d imagine Nathan and the team might have enjoyed a couple of quiet celebratory drinks when they got back to Cranbourne on Friday night.
Not a bad day at the office.
And one for the blackbook… (was a bit quiet on the country circuit this week)
Oxley Tycoon – Sandown, Race 5
This was a race dominated by those on speed, as many were at Sandown on Saturday, but punters would do well to throw Oxley Tycoon into the blackbook.
He was terrific late from back in the field, rattling home to post the second-fastest last 200m split of the entire meeting in a race where the pattern was firmly against him.
He looks like he’ll only be better suited stepping up in trip and, with a more favourable race shape next time, he should be very hard to beat.
