Blue Diamond Stakes
Streisand hits the right note with Blue Diamond romp
Trevor Marshallsea
ANZ News
She may have been “underrated” throughout her brief career but trainer Clinton McDonald believes a star has been born after Streisand (Magnus) scored a dominant victory in Saturday’s Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Caulfield.
The filly was the equal-most seasoned performer in the 16-horse field after four previous starts - the latest bringing her first success in a 0.75-length victory in the Blue Diamond Prelude (F) (Gr 2, 1100m) - but drifted late to start on the fourth line of betting at $11.
What's On
McDonald believes her experience showed in what was a powerful win in the $2 million feature for a filly bought at Inglis Premier by McDonald and Shane McGrath Bloodstock for $100,000, and whose half-sister will be offered at the same sale next week.
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Jumping from gate ten for Ben Melham - who shrewdly chose her over two-from-two colt Big Sky (Bivouac) before he was scratched on Friday - Streisand sat three and four-wide without cover for the trip, travelling just off the leaders under a solid pace.
The filly joined the front-runners before the turn and while she had a fight to drive past Danny O’Brien’s leader Closer To Free (Street Boss), she eventually gained the upper hand over the $4.60 favourite at the 100-metre mark and pushed away to beat that colt by 0.75 lengths.
The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained colt Guest House (Home Affairs), who drifted slightly from favouritism to start $4.80 second elect, took third, while $5 shot Unit Five (Supido) disappointed in tenth.
McDonald has now won the Blue Diamond twice - in three editions - after the 2024 success of star-crossed filly Hayasugi (Royal Meeting), and has single-handedly worked to redress a gender imbalance, with his pair the only two female winners in seven years.
The Cranbourne trainer has also eclipsed his late father Ross, who won the Blue Diamond only once with Courtza (Pompeii Court) in 1989. That filly went on to win the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) weeks later, and McDonald will now have high hopes of emulating his father with Streisand.
Bookmakers wound her into an $11 shot for the world’s richest two-year-old race at Rosehill on March 21, level with another Melbourne running Stretan Ruler (Wild Ruler) after his victory 50 minutes earlier in Rosehill’s Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m). Bjorn Baker’s Warwoven (Sword Of State) heads that market at $8.
Named after singer Barbra Streisand by her large group of party-hungry owners due to her dam being called Zouper Star (Zoustar), McDonald’s filly appeared to greatly appreciate the addition of blinkers earlier in the week.
But McDonald, who also took Hayasugi into her Blue Diamond at her fifth start, said it was race experience that had mostly carried the day.
Streisand ran narrow seconds in Flemington’s Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (Listed, 1000m) and Inglis Banner (RL, 1000m) in the spring, then resumed with a fifth in the Blue Diamond Preview (Gr 3, 1000m) before winning the Prelude.
“The way she walked around the mounting yard it was like she’s done it her whole life and she raced that way
“What a filly,” said McDonald, who was celebrating his fifth Group 1.
“The blinkers were used, she floated, but you try things and it worked. To all my staff, my trackwork riders - fantastic.
“She did it the tough way and I thought she was really strong all the way to the line.
“I just thought she was the most seasoned horse in the race. The way she walked around the mounting yard it was like she’s done it her whole life and she raced that way.”
McDonald drew comparisons of toughness with Hayasugi, who started at $16 in her Blue Diamond. She also went on to the Golden Slipper, but after early trouble finished last. She died from complications following foot surgery after two more starts, which included a second in the Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m).
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“It was very similar to Hayasugi, very understated,” McDonald said. “She [Hayasugi] just won [the Prelude] by a head and everyone wrote her off in the Diamond.
“Same with this filly. She’s had four starts, got beaten a short half head in two of them, unlucky when she ran fifth and then she won her fourth start. So I thought, ‘Have I got this wrong? I think she’s going alright this filly’.
“She’s had a solid preparation, she’s just come here and she’s tough, and that’s what you need to win these races.
“It’s just terrific. Look out tonight.”
The celebrations looked set to be long and vigorous, judging by the wild mounting yard antics of Streisand’s owners as she hit the line.
“It’s the first time I’ve been punched in the nose in the mounting yard,” said McDonald, who was caught up in the mayhem.
“Big bunch of owners, it’s fantastic; it’s what racing needs. There’s kids, mums, dads. It’s always great when you win but I’ve been down at the horse stalls today and the vibe here in Melbourne racing is fantastic and it’s what we’ve got to create to keep racing going.”
Melham, celebrating his 23rd elite victory, said his loyalty to Streisand had been based on his opinion of her from the outset.
“It was a long-range plan with this filly,” he said. “She showed exceptional ability from day dot. She's just had a faultless start to her career, two lovely runs before Christmas.
“She went out, had time to have a little break, she's come back and she'd just furnished every day, developed and obviously that's what you want to see from these two-year-olds. She’s a ready-made racehorse. Clinton and the team have done a great job.
“She's a cranky little thing on the ground, but lovely to ride race day. Blinkers first time today, we always thought she’d improve with them on.
“She was a little bit sleepy going to the start, and I gave her a bit of a squeeze and then she picked up and I lit her up in the barriers a bit just to make sure she jumped because she went to sleep on me again.
“Obviously, a lot of the speed didn't jump and we didn't end up going that quick. I was just in a position where I could control the race and she did the rest.”
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Bred by Victoria’s Eldon Park Stud and offered at last year’s Premier sale by Northmore Thoroughbreds, Streisand is the third foal and second and best runner of Zouper Star, a dual country winner in the southern state over 1200 metres and 1512 metres.
Zouper Star’s colt by Star Witness (Starcraft) - who McDonald’s associate Shane McGrath purchased for $20,000 as a weanling - will be offered as Lot 458 by Newhaven Park at the Premier draft next week. The mare has a Nicconi (Bianconi) colt at foot, and was covered by Street Boss (Street Cry) last spring.
Streisand is one of only 21 named foals from the final crop of Magnus (Flying Spur), who died in late September of that last 2023 season at Widden’s Victorian farm aged 21.
The stallion has 605 winners from 844 runners at 71.68 per cent and 34 stakes victors at four per cent. Streisand is his fifth elite winner.
She’s also among four stakes winners for Zoustar (Northern Meteor) as a broodmare sire, from 87 runners at 4.59 per cent.
The start of the 56th Blue Diamond contained substantial drama. Anticipating the start, several horses lunged at the gates and I Am Aria (I Am Invincible) burst through them, before being quickly restrained by Craig Williams.
O’Brien later said second starter Closer To Free had paid a price for the trouble at the gates, making his run all the more meritorious.
“There was a mishap at the barriers when the starter went to let them go and he flew the machine the first time and smashed his face into the front of the gates when they didn’t open,” O’Brien said.
“It didn’t help, as he didn’t jump as well the second time. He’s got out there and ran a great race, but the winner was too good.”
Sportsbet Blue Diamond Stakes (GR 1)
Show
Sportsbet Blue Diamond Stakes (GR 1)
$2,000,000, Caulfield, 2yo, 1200m, Good(4)
-
Streisand (AUS) 2 b F 55kg
Magnus (AUS) - Zouper Star (AUS), by Zoustar (AUS)
2nd Dam: Simply the Best (NZ), by Kingdom Bay (NZ)
3rd Dam: Chickero (NZ), by Pevero (IRE)
B: Eldon Park Stud VIC T: C W McDonald J: B Melham
$22,000, William Inglis & Son Pty. Ltd. Great Southern Sale 2024
V: Yarran Thoroughbreds
P: Northmore / Waterford
$100,000, William Inglis & Son Pty. Ltd. Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale 2025
V: Northmore Thoroughbreds
P: Shane McGrath B/stock / Clinton McDonald Racing
-
Closer to Free (AUS) 2 ch C 57kg
Street Boss (USA) - Lady Naturaliste (AUS), by Choisir (AUS)
B: Milburn Creek Stud NSW T: D T O'Brien J: M J Dee
-
Guest House (AUS) 2 b C 57kg
Home Affairs (AUS) - Flamboyant Lass (AUS), by Stratum (AUS)
B: Love Racing Pty Ltd VIC T: M Price & M Kent Jnr J: Jamie Melham
Margins: 0.8 lens, 0.2 lens. Time: 1:10.12 (last 600m 35.29)
Betting: $11.00, $4.50, $4.80
Then followed: Zambales (AUS), Ghana's Akan (AUS), Eternal Warrior (AUS), Chayan (AUS), Alibaba (AUS), Lady Moscato (AUS), Unit Five (AUS), Almost an Angel (AUS), Eurocanto (AUS), Invincible Son (AUS), Milsons Point (AUS), I Am Aria (AUS), Tough Romance (AUS), last.
1st dam: ZOUPER STAR, by Zoustar. 2 wins at 1200m, 1500m in Aust. Dam of-
2021 g. Rich Star, by Rich Enuff. Winner at 1000m in 2025-26 in Aust.
2022
f. by Rich Enuff. 2023 STREISAND (f by Magnus). 2 wins at 2,
A$1,555,500, in 2025-26, MRC Blue Diamond S., Gr.1, Blue Diamond Prelude (f),
Gr.2, 2d VRC Inglis Banner 2YO S., RL, Maribyrnong Trial S.,
L.
2024 c. by Star Witness.
2025 c. by Nicconi.
Too Darn Hot’s Tropicus snares maiden Group 1
Tropicus (Too Darn Hot) became the fifth elite winner worldwide for his sensational sire and made a case for his own career at stud with a powerful first-up victory in Saturday’s Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m) at Caulfield.
Ridden for the first time by Craig Williams, and providing the veteran jockey’s first win in the race, Kia Ora Stud’s four-year-old homebred began well from gate nine of 13 and found a smooth running line, three wide with cover.
Carrying half a kilogram under topweight under the handicap conditions at 58.5kg, Tropicus cruised up to the leaders before the home turn before being forced into a battle with Gallant Son (Written Tycoon) to his inside for the first half of the straight. Once that was won, however, he kicked well clear inside the 200 metres to put the race to bed.
A slightly easy $7.50 second favourite, Tropicus had 1.25 lengths to spare on the line from $20 shot and topweight Hedged (Capitalist), with Gallant Son holding onto third at $8.50, and $2.60 favourite Point Barrow (Blue Point) running fifth.
It was Tropicus’s fourth win - all of them at Caulfield - in 12 starts, and pushed his earnings into seven figures.
Something of a slow burner, he won a two-year-old handicap on debut in May of his first season, but struggled slightly through a three-year-old spring highlighted by a third in Rosehill’s San Domenico Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m).
However, he scored his stakes breakthrough on this day last year in the Zeditave Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) and added another black-type win in last August’s The Heath (Gr 3, 1100m), before a length second to star sprinter Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) in the Schillaci Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m), also at Caulfield.
Co-trainer Sam Freedman said now that Tropicus had broken through at the top tier, he could be set to ascend to another level and prove himself the latest star son of Darley’s in-demand shuttler Too Darn Hot (Dubawi).
Too Darn Hot’s runaway success in both hemispheres might yet convince Darley to leave him in Britain this year while it stands his other Australian Group 1 winner Broadsiding at its Kelvinside farm.
Kia Ora may also be licking their lips over the prospect of standing Tropicus, now he has a Group 1 to his name to confirm the high rating his trainers have always had of the stallion.
Tropicus (AUS)
4yo: (19Aug21 b c)
Trainer: Anthony & Sam Freedman
Owner: Kia Ora Stud
Sire: Too Darn Hot
Dam: Extensible
Dam's Sire: Exceed And Excel
Breeder: Kia Ora Stud
“He's a proper horse, he deserves that,” Sam Freedman, celebrating his 30th birthday, said of the win.
“As a three-year-old he raced against some of the best, Broadsiding and a few really proper colts. He's got better as an entire and he’s one of those horses that just trains on and on and on.
“We’ve seen him get better this prep. You wouldn't rule out him going to another level again.”
Continuing a hot run of success on the track for Kia Ora horses in the past two years, Tropicus may now be set for the William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), to be held at Caulfield on March 21 while its usual home Moonee Valley is being remodelled.
“I don't think he's a straight horse, to be honest,” said Freedman, eschewing the possibility of a start in Flemington’s Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) on March 7.
“He's generally good around a bend, he's so good here at Caulfield.
“I'd say we may end up in a William Reid, something like that.
“We’ll chat to the team at Kia Ora, they've been great supporters of ours for such a long time … they're leading an amazing group of horses.”
He added: “This horse was largely unwanted as a yearling. Brett Cavanough did a lot of his early work as a yearling and a two-year-old. He’s ultra tough.
“He puts himself up there, pins his ears back and has a crack. They don't always do that as entires, as you know, but he's one horse he's got better - two, three, four, he just continues to improve.
“He carried a big weight today. Next in store would probably be a weight-for-age race. I don't think we'd see him in a Newmarket, probably go to a William Reid - he’s so good at Caulfield and so good fresh.”
Williams, who won another of Caulfield’s three elite features on Saturday aboard Pericles (Street Boss) in the Futurity Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) said he was ultra impressed with his first sit on Tropicus.
“Beginners' luck maybe, first time on him, but he seemed pretty good to ride,” said Williams, celebrating his lucky 88th Group 1 success in the week of Chinese New Year.
“He’s pretty cruisy. I can see why Mark Zara and Damian Lane really enjoyed riding him in their time, and he gave me a lovely ride today, so the race worked out really well for me.”
Bred by Kia Ora and associates, Tropicus is the third of seven foals - and the second and best winner from two to race - for the mare Extensible (Exceed And Excel), a Sydney city winner of four races who was also placed at Group 3 level.
Her filly by Justify (Scat Daddy) will be offered by Tyreel Stud at this year’s Inglis Easter sale. She is catalogued as Lot 301.
Extensible now has a filly foal by Home Affairs (I Am Invincible), and was covered by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) last spring.
Too Darn Hot, who covered 110 mares at Darley Kelvinside last year at a fee of $275,000 (inc GST), has 14 stakes winners in Australia from 141 runners at 9.93 per cent, and 91 winners at 64.54 per cent.
Tropicus joins Broadsiding as Too Darn Hot’s Australian elite winners, alongside his three in the northern hemisphere in Fallen Angel, Hotazhell and Tornado Alert.
Sportsbet Oakleigh Plate (GR 1)
Show
Sportsbet Oakleigh Plate (GR 1)
$750,000, Caulfield, 1100m, Good(4)
-
Tropicus (AUS) 4 b H 58kg
Too Darn Hot (GB) - Extensible (AUS), by Exceed and Excel (AUS)
2nd Dam: Kerimba (IRE), by Sinndar (IRE)
3rd Dam: Kerita (IRE), by Formidable (USA)
B: Kia Ora Stud Pty Ltd NSW T: A & S Freedman J: Craig Williams -
Hedged (AUS) 5 b G 59kg
Capitalist (AUS) - Acing Shamrock (AUS), by Fastnet Rock (AUS)
B: Yulong Investments Yulong Stud VIC T: Gavin Bedggood J: H Coffey
-
Gallant Son (AUS) 4 br H 52kg
Written Tycoon (AUS) - Plucky Belle (AUS), by Mossman (AUS)
B: Esplin Family NSW T: P G Moody & Katherine Coleman J: Luke Cartwright
Margins: 1.3 lens, 2 lens. Time: 1:02.17 (last 600m 34.09)
Betting: $7.50, $21.00, $8.50
Then followed: Jedibeel (NZ), Point Barrow (AUS), Persian Spirit (AUS), Spywire (AUS), Way to the Stars (AUS), She's Bulletproof (AUS), Don't Hope Do (AUS), Oak Hill (NZ), De Bergerac (AUS), Geegees Mistruth (AUS), last.
1st dam: Extensible, by Exceed and Excel. 4 wins at 1300m, 1400m, A$246,625, ATC Fairfield RSL Club H., Hyland Race Colours H., Cellarbrations H., 2d ATC Schweppes H., Pluck at Vinery H., Strassmeir H., McGrath Estate Agents P., 3d MRC Summoned S., Gr.3, ATC Casino Prince at Vinery H., 4th ATC Angst S., Gr.3. Dam of-
2018 g. Penciled, by Written Tycoon. Winner at 1350m in Aust.
2019 c. by
More Than Ready. 2021 TROPICUS (c by Too Darn Hot). 4 wins-1
at 2-at 1100m, 1200m, A$1,030,300, to 2025-26, MRC Oakleigh P., Gr.1, Zeditave
S., Gr.3, Heath S., Gr.3, Catanach's Jewellers 2YO H., 2d MRC
Schillaci S., Gr.2, Manfred S., Gr.3, 3d ATC San Domenico S.,
Gr.3.
2022 f. Fashion Diva, by Wootton Bassett. Unraced.
2023 c. by
Wootton Bassett.
2024 f. by Justify.
2025 f. by Home Affairs.
Stretan Ruler adds to family honour with Silver Slipper win
Pakenham trainer Phillip Stokes suggested Melbourne’s two-year-olds might be superior to Sydney’s this season after his well-related colt Stretan Ruler (Wild Ruler) easily raised his sire’s first black-type winner in Rosehill’s Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) on Saturday.
Well ridden from gate four of nine by Chad Schofield, Stretan Ruler - whose half-brother was second-top lot at the recent Inglis Classic Yearling Sale - perched behind a group of three leaders in the running, went past them at the 350 metres and exploded away for the most straightforward of wins, by 3.47 lengths.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s Eviction Notice (Stay Inside) continued the strong form of his first season sire - a Newgate Farm barnmate to Wild Ruler - by claiming second despite drifting to $31. The colt also lived up to his last-start third in the Canonbury Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) and the early form he showed in winning by 7.82 lengths at Kensington’s first official trials of the season.
Chris Waller’s boom colt Hidrix (Extreme Choice) had his colours lowered in running third as a solidly supported $3.60 favourite, providing another example of the patchy two-year-old form widely seen in recent seasons after becoming the talk of the town with his Canonbury victory.
And indeed Stokes would have it that Sydney’s juvenile scene this term is lagging behind the quality of Melbourne’s.
While Bjorn Baker’s Warwoven (Sword Of State) maintains his long-held spot atop Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) betting, the southern capital has produced a range of head-turning two-year-olds this season.
They include Big Sky (Bivouac), Hard Kick (All Too Hard), Blue Diamond winner Streisand (Magnus) and Unit Five (Supido), who’s trained out of Ciaron Maher’s Cranbourne stable, and kicked off with a Caulfield victory before taking the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) at the Gold Coast.
Stokes indicated this belief had helped in his decision to scratch Stretan Ruler as the first emergency from Saturday’s Blue Diamond, after he’d drawn barrier 19, and heads to Sydney. The colt was the first scratching out of the Group 1 on Thursday, but would have gained a run had Stokes elected to wait, with two runners above him taken out.
“We didn’t know how to line up the [Sydney] form to be honest,” he told Sky Thoroughbred Central after the Silver Slipper. “But it looks like the Melbourne horses might have an edge over the Sydney horses.
“He [Stretan Ruler] is a nice horse. We thought of having him in the Blue Diamond but scratched because of the barrier.
“He put paid to them, conducted himself beautifully, and is a very exciting colt going forward.”
Stokes said Stretan Ruler would have his next start in the Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) on March 7 before going to the Slipper two weeks later.
Bookmakers responded to his Silver Slipper win by making him second favourite for the world’s richest two-year-old race at $11, behind Warwoven at $8.
Stokes said Stretan Ruler, who debuted with a 0.1-length second in Caulfield’s Merson Cooper Stakes (Listed, 1000m) in November, had improved markedly from his first-up fourth of eight in the Blue Diamond Prelude (Gr 3, 1100m) behind Closer To Free (Street Boss), who franked the form by running second in the Blue Diamond.
“I thought he was there today. I thought his first-up run, he was found wanting,” Stokes said. “He filled me with confidence before the race today.
“The trip away, he’ll take a lot of benefit from this. It was his first time going the Sydney way too, and he conducted himself well there too. Chad Schofield gave him a lovely ride.”
Stretan Ruler becomes the second stakes winner for former Godolphin mare Sretan (Bernadini), who managed only a Kembla Grange maiden third-placing amid three starts but has now had four winners from as many foals to race, including two stakes winners.
Stokes’s colt follows his triple stakes-winning half-sister and stablemate Stretan Angel, who’s won three stakes races for Stokes up to Group 2 level, alongside three placings in Group 1 sprints.
Stretan Ruler also becomes the first stakes winner amid eight runners for Wild Ruler (Snitzel), the Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) hero who stood his fourth season at Newgate last spring for $27,500 (inc GST).
The handsome bay colt is another example of the value that can be found in the bottom half of the market at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, having been bought there by Stokes and Suman Hedge Bloodstock from the Willow Park Stud draft for $220,000. In winning the Group 2, the colt became the 49th individual stakes winner produced under Glenn Burrows’ ownership.
He was bred by Cheval Properties and the Hunter Valley’s Kirks Bridge Farm, who sold his half-brother by Harry Angel (Dark Angel) for $540,000 at Inglis Classic earlier this month, making him the second top lot of that sale. He was purchased by the Equine Growth Fund, Blueblood Thoroughbreds and SP Bloodstock.
Sretan now has a Harry Angel filly at foot, and was covered last spring by Coolmore shuttler City Of Troy (Justify).
Chandon Silver Slipper Stakes (GR 2)
Show
Chandon Silver Slipper Stakes (GR 2)
$300,000, Rosehill, 2yo, 1100m, Good(4)
-
Stretan Ruler (AUS) 2 b C 56kg
Wild Ruler (AUS) - Sretan (AUS), by Bernardini (USA)
2nd Dam: Pure Joy (AUS), by Fusaichi Pegasus (USA)
3rd Dam: Angelic Smile (AUS), by Dehere (USA)
B: Cheval Properties Pty Ltd T/A Kirks Bridge Farm NSW T: P Stokes J: C Schofield
$220,000, William Inglis & Son Pty. Ltd. Easter Yearling Sale 2025
V: Willow Stud
P: Stokes Racing / Suman Hedge B/stock FBAA
-
Eviction Notice (AUS) 2 b C 56kg
Stay Inside (AUS) - Euroboss (USA), by Street Boss (USA)
B: S F Bloodstock L L C NSW T: G Waterhouse & A Bott J: A Hyeronimus
-
Hidrix (AUS) 2 gr C 56kg
Extreme Choice (AUS) - Shadow (AUS), by Medaglia d'Oro (USA)
B: Etak Thoroughbreds Pty Ltd NSW T: C J Waller J: Zac Lloyd
Margins: 3.5 lens, 0.2 lens. Time: 1:03.64 (last 600m 33.88)
Betting: $5.50, $31.00, $3.50
Then followed: Incognito (AUS), Shiki (AUS), Savage Look (AUS), Dr Hook (AUS), Confederation (AUS), Wave Blaster (AUS), last.
1st dam: SRETAN, by Bernardini. Placed at 3 in Aust. Dam of-
2018 g. Vantan Express, by Vancouver. 4 wins at 1400m, 1600m, A$78,340, 3d BRC
Stradbroke 2YO H.
2019 f. Tickle Our Fancy, by Dissident. Raced twice.2020
STRETAN ANGEL (f by Harry Angel). 3 wins-1 at 2-at 1050m,
1100m, A$1,295,370, to 2025-26, VRC Danehill S., Gr.2, MRC Alinghi S.,
L, SAJC Dequetteville S., L, 2d VRC Lightning S.,
Gr.1, SAJC Goodwood H., Gr.1, VRC Cap d'Antibes S.,
L, SAJC Redelva S., L, Junction 2YO H., MRC Taggart S., 3d VRC
Newmarket H., Gr.1, Gilgai S., Gr.2, 4th VRC Sprint Classic,
Gr.1, MVRC William Reid S., Gr.1, VRC Sunlight Classic,
L.
2021 g. Glorious Moments, by Brutal. 2 wins at 1250m,
1300m, A$167,750, in 2024-25, ATC Agency Real Estate H., TAB P.2023
STRETAN RULER (c by Wild Ruler). Winner at 2, A$219,250, in
2025-26, ATC Silver Slipper S., Gr.2, 2d MRC Merson Cooper S.,
L, 4th MRC Blue Diamond Prelude (c&g), Gr.3.
2024 c.
by Harry Angel.
2025 f. by Harry Angel.
Lofty targets on Sheza Alibi’s agenda
Peter Moody declared he had a very special filly on his hands - one with the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) potentially on her horizon - after Sheza Alibi (Saxon Warrior) made a successful return with her third stakes win on Saturday at Caulfield.
The outlier Australian performer - and only stakes winner in this country - for former Coolmore Stud shuttler Saxon Warrior (Deep Impact), Sheza Alibi made it five victories from eight starts with a breathtaking display in the Angus Armanasco Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) for three-year-old fillies at Caulfield.
After taking Flemington’s The Vanity (Gr 3, 1400m) and the Sandown Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m) back-to-back to end the spring, Sheza Alibi was sent out a prohibitive $1.50 favourite for her resumption in the Armanasco.
With Zac Spain replacing suspended Moody regular Luke Nolen in the saddle, she secured favourite backers their cash, but only after a couple of anxious moments in the home straight.
Jumping from barrier one of nine, Sheza Alibi travelled fifth on the fence behind a keen tempo. She entered the straight full of running but with seemingly nowhere to go, as Spain first looked right but then switched back to the rail.
Eventually, tiring leader Chateau Eze (Frankel) drifted just wide enough off the rail to allow Sheza Alibi a narrow space, and she charged through it like the class animal she so obviously is to power away and score by 2.25 lengths.
Ciaron Maher’s Group 2 winner Salty Pearl (Tagaloa) worked home well from worse than midfield to take second as $5 second favourite.
Moody and co-trainer Katherine Coleman showed they could prosper at both ends of the market as their $31 longshot Mystery ’N’ Drama (Lucky Vega) took third in her first try at black type.
Relieved and delighted, Moody said the victory had vindicated the stable’s change of mind in deciding to not run Sheza Alibi at Flemington last week.
Whilst that meant a tilt at next weekend’s Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) couldn’t be pursued, he said the former Rockhampton-trained revelation might try to make up for it in the Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) on March 7.
Beyond that, the future looks exciting to say the least. Moody said Sheza Alibi would be kept to a brief autumn campaign, with the thought of greater riches in the spring in mind.
“There won’t be a deep campaign … and we'll be back for the spring,” he said.
“You dream of her - could she be a Cox Plate filly? But at worst, well it's a terrible thing to say ‘at worst’, you've got a race like the Golden Eagle, you've got the Empire Rose.
“There's a lot of options, so we just need to make sure we look after her.”
Moody added the filly’s knockabout Queensland grazier owner Fred Noffke was happy to let him and Coleman decide Sheza Alibi’s program, but “more importantly, he's happy for the horse to steer the ship”.
“We've got the fillies’ option at Flemington in two weeks over a mile [the G2 Kewney Stakes], or the Randwick Guineas, and if she needs another week we can maybe look at something in Sydney beyond that,” he said.
Coleman said she was “thrilled” for Spain, saying he’d made the right call to wait for a rails run in the straight.
“Thankfully, he had the horse underneath him to accelerate like that,” she said. “We were hoping that she would be able to produce for him when he needed her to.
“Geez she’s exciting, this filly. You don’t want to get too ahead of yourself but I think she’s something really special.”
Spain said he was mightily relieved when the inside run opened up.
“I was just going so well,” he said. “Good horses get you out of trouble. I wanted to try and hold the box seat but I would’ve been out of my comfort zone, so I had to just let her travel in hand and just believe in her, really.”
Bred by veteran Queensland breeder Fred Mansour, Sheza Alibi was bought by Noffke as a weanling in an Inglis Digital Sale in June 2023, for just $10,000, with Middlebrook Valley Lodge the consignor. She’s now won $693,000.
Noffke started her in Rockhampton with Kris Hansen, for whom she won her second start in that city and her third in Townsville, before graduating to black type for a second in Eagle Farms’ Tatts Stakes (Listed, 1400m) behind subsequent Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) hero Autumn Boy (The Autumn Sun).
She was then transferred to Moody and Coleman at Pakenham, where she became a budding national superstar.
The bay filly is the fourth of five foals for Sheza Gypsy (Shaft), and her only placegetter from four to race. Before Sheza Alibi’s emergence, the mare wasn’t served in 2023 or 2024, but was covered by Newgate Farm’s $44,000 (inc GST) stallion Ozzmosis (Zoustar) last spring.
Saxon Warrior, who stands for Coolmore in Ireland for €10,000 (approx. A$16,600), has 58 winners from 108 Australian starters, with one stakes winner and two stakes placegetters.
Sheza Alibi ranks as the 11-year-old’s second-best performer worldwide, behind his sole elite winner Victoria Road, who took the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (Gr 1, 1600m).
Sportsbet Angus Armanasco Stakes (GR 2)
Show
Sportsbet Angus Armanasco Stakes (GR 2)
$300,000, Caulfield, 3yo, 1400m, Good(4)
-
Sheza Alibi (AUS) 3 b F 58kg
Saxon Warrior (JPN) - Sheza Gypsy (AUS), by Shaft (AUS)
2nd Dam: Gypsy Mai (AUS), by Our Maizcay (AUS)
3rd Dam: Gypsy Ahlee (AUS), by Alquoz (USA)
B: Mr F Monsour QLD T: P G Moody & Katherine Coleman J: Zac Spain
$10,000, William Inglis & Son Pty. Ltd. Inglis Digital June Sale 2023
V: Middlebrook Vly
P: Fred Noffke
-
Salty Pearl (AUS) 3 gr F 58kg
Tagaloa (AUS) - Leaven of Malice (AUS), by Sebring (AUS)
B: Mr D Brideoake VIC T: C Maher J: Ben Allen
-
Mystery 'n' Drama (AUS) 3 br F 56kg
Lucky Vega (IRE) - Unforgotten (AUS), by Fastnet Rock (AUS)
B: Yulong Investments Yulong Stud VIC T: P G Moody & Katherine Coleman J: Luke Cartwright
Margins: 2.3 lens, 0.4 lens. Time: 1:22.70 (last 600m 35.34)
Betting: $1.50, $5.00, $31.00
Then followed: Spicy Lu (AUS), Exit (AUS), Chateau Eze (GB), Jenni Gone Bonkers (AUS), Morgana (AUS), Angel Eyes (AUS), last.
1st dam: SHEZA GYPSY, by Shaft. 6 wins to 1300m, A$133,125, 2d ATC Tab.com.au H. Dam of-
2018 g. Gypsy Fox, by Foxwedge. Unplaced.
2019 f. Super Gypsy, by Super One. Unplaced.
2021
f. by Flying Artie. 2022 SHEZA ALIBI (f by Saxon Warrior).
5 wins-2 at 2-from 1200m to 1600m, A$693,695, to 2025-26, MRC Sandown Guineas,
Gr.2, Angus Armanasco S., Gr.2, VRC Vanity S.,
Gr.3, 2d Qld Tatt's RC Tattersall's S., L, 3d MRC Gothic S.,
L.
2023 c. Nomadic, by King's Legacy. Raced once.
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