Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman have already enjoyed Guineas success at Caulfield this spring, and they head into Saturday’s meeting as the leading contenders to capture another.
The Pakenham-based training partnership prepares Sheza Alibi, the clear $1.70 favourite for this weekend’s Sandown Guineas.
The $400,000 feature arrives four weeks after Moody and Coleman celebrated a Group 1 triumph with Ole Dancer in the Thousand Guineas, and Coleman is thrilled that Sheza Alibi has progressed to the 1600-metre Group 2.
Sent down from Queensland with a plan to target the abundance of Black Type opportunities available to three-year-olds during the spring, Sheza Alibi has continued to develop, and Coleman is eager to see how far she can climb.
“These fillies, you’re just always looking to build on their pedigree, so this is a brilliant opportunity to try and do that with her,” Coleman said.
“I think, in the autumn, she’s going to be probably a bit more furnished and a bit more mature and I certainly think that she’ll be in some of those nice races over the autumn.”
Before her arrival in Victoria, Sheza Alibi had made four starts in Queensland. After finishing runner-up on debut, she broke her maiden at Rockhampton and then captured the $100,000 Townsville 2YO Classic (1200m) before finishing second to Autumn Boy in the Listed Tatts Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm.
Her Victorian introduction came in the Gothic Stakes (1200m), where she finished third behind Tentyris and Raging Force, before stepping up to win the Group 3 The Vanity on Derby Day at Flemington.
The daughter of Saxon Warrior stormed to the line to win that 1400m feature by 1-3/4 lengths, a display that convinced her trainers she is ready to stretch out to the mile.
“The way she finished that race off and how well she came through it gave us the idea that we might look at her at the mile,” Coleman said.
“She’s given us every indication that she’s going to eat it up.”
Luke Nolen, who guided Sheza Alibi to victory at Flemington, retains the ride on Saturday, with the pair to leave from the inside barrier in the field of 12.
If you’re betting on the Sandown Guineas, compare bookie odds via the JHR bookmakers page.
