Latest News

By Ray Hickson

Only one filly has won a Randwick Guineas but trainer Peter Moody says he has every reason to be confident Sheza Alibi can improve that statistic at Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Peter Moody (Pic: Racing Photos).

Part of that reasoning stems from before Moody, and co-trainer Katherine Coleman, took over the filly’s training and he watched her mix it with Guineas second favourite Autumn Boy as a two-year-old.

She’s also beaten the boys in the Sandown Guineas last spring and Moody said the Group 1 $1 million The Agency Randwick Guineas (1600m) has to be within her reach.

“She’s a Group 2 and 3 winner so this is the next step for her,’’ Moody said.

“She’s a bloody nice filly with good ability, I don’t think there’s any secret.

“We could have waited a week for the Coolmore but we’ve got a small field and it’s a class line up.

“She’s raced Autumn Boy before and had no luck and ran second to him. If he’s the benchmark we feel we can certainly be competitive.”

Mosheen (2012) is the lone filly to win the Randwick Guineas since it replaced the Canterbury Guineas back in 2006.

Sheza Alibi started her career in Rockhampton with Kris Hansen and it was after she ran second to Autumn Boy in the Tatt’s Stakes at Eagle Farm last June that she was sent south.

What Moody has seen in the time he’s been in charge of her is a filly that turns up, continues to improve, and one that went to another level when the blinkers were applied.

In fact she’s unbeaten since they went on.

“In the time I’ve had her she’s kept physically developing, obviously I didn’t have her at the start,’’ he said.

“The blinkers made a massive difference, the only time she was beaten it was behind Tentyris at 1200m and I think if I’d had the blinkers on that day it may have been a different result.”

Luke Nolen is back on board the filly, $2.40 favourite with TAB on Wednesday, in the Randwick Guineas after Zac Spain partnered her to a 2-1/4 length win in the Group 2 Angus Armanasco (1400m) two weeks ago.

If Sheza Alibi is able to win the Guineas it'll be a major milestone in Nolen's career, just five days short of his 46th birthday, as he sits on 1999 wins.

Forty of them are Group 1s, 34 in combination with Moody among their 908 win haul together, and he rode Black Caviar in 14 of her 15 Group 1 wins.

Moody was tossing up between the Randwick Guineas and next week’s Coolmore Classic and given the make up of Saturday’s field he’s happy enough to land there.

“She was going to be in the Australian Guineas but we gave her an extra week and missed our first-up run so it set us back a week and put us on a path to this or the Coolmore,’’ he said.

“She won’t have a deep preparation, she is nominated for everything. She might have one more run or this might be it.

CAULFIELD GOES BONKERS ‼️

Sheza Alibi and Zac Spain get the run and charge through to win the Angus Armanasco, but boy there were some anxious moments!

What a ride, what a win, what a call 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/jkB7gZCUTU

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) February 21, 2026

Sheza Alibi wins at Caulfield (Video: 7HorseRacing on X)

“She’ll come straight home after Saturday and it’s does she go back to Sydney for a race like the Queen Of The Turf or something like that.”

He said from barrier four Nolen will be able to sit wherever he needs Sheza Alibi to be depending on what pressure there is early.

Meanwhile, Moody and Coleman will be represented in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) with Ole Dancer following her third placing in Tempted’s Surround Stakes last weekend.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s meeting at Randwick