Sheza Alibi's next challenge is the Might And Power Stakes

Sheza Alibi is preparing for her first attempt at the 2000-metre distance in the Group 1 Might And Power Stakes, to be held at Caulfield.

Following this race, trainers Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman will have a three-week interval to ready Sheza Alibi for the Group 1 Golden Eagle, a 1500m event at Randwick scheduled for October 31.

Moody noted that Sheza Alibi has shown significant improvement since her impressive win in the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 12, indicating a need for another start before the Golden Eagle.

The trainer's rationale for bypassing the Toorak Handicap, which shares the same date as the Might And Power, was Sheza Alibi's potential to carry an unfavourable weight.

Considering the long-term perspective, Moody suggested that running the mare at 2000m now would create more opportunities in the following year.

"I think she gets too much weight in the Toorak and the weight-for-age race I think will suit her better," Moody explained.

"There might be 10 or 12 runners, rather than 16 in a Toorak with 57 (kg) or 58 on her back.

"It's 2000 metres and then she'll go three weeks back to the 1500 metres of the Golden Eagle.

"It gives her good exposure for the future and experience at 2000 metres.

"She's done that well in seven days. I think it makes life easy and I don't have to train her.

"I think if you look at history over a long time, a lot of nice horses have won over a mile-and-a-quarter and then come back to that mile mark in 21 days, so I don't see that as a problem."

The Might And Power Stakes has only seen fields of 10 or more runners once in the last five renewals, with the 2023 edition featuring 10 horses, while the previous year had a field of just four.

Remarkably, Winx in 2016 faced only two competitors when she won.

Moody confirmed that Sheza Alibi's training regimen has been suitable for a 2000m race.

"She's had a run at 1400 (metres), a run at a mile, a lovely preparation for 2000 metres," Moody stated.

"It will give her good exposure and let me know whether she can run it, like Autumn Glow in the autumn.

"Until you try them, you don't really know and if she sees out a strong 2000 it opens up a lot more doors for us next year.

"There is the Australian Cup, the Queen Elizabeth and the Cox Plate, hopefully, as a five-year-old."

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