Craig Kerry
Kerrin McEvoy remembers telling fellow Sydney jockeys at Eagle Farm last June when going down to Autumn Boy aboard Sheza Alibi that “I might have found one here”.
The Rockhampton-trained filly was then moved to Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman’s stable to race in Melbourne after that Tattersall’s Stakes run and McEvoy hasn’t had another chance with her.
Now McEvoy will be aboard Autumn Boy on Saturday at Randwick when Sheza Alibi, the $10,000 online buy for Central Queensland cattle farmer Fred Noffke, tries to deny him a first win in the $4 million Doncaster Mile.
McEvoy has won most of Australia’s major races across 86 group 1 victories, but the Doncaster handicap has eluded him.
“I definitely would love to put it on the mantelpiece because it’s a time-honoured race,” McEvoy said.
“You grow up watching Super Impose and those horses in Doncaster Miles and you are forever in awe of the race, so it would be fantastic to knock it off.”
Chris Waller-trained Autumn Boy, with gate one and 52 kilograms, was $7 with TAB and the only horse in single-figures outside of $2 favourite Sheza Alibi, which dominated the last time the pair met, in the Randwick Guineas over the mile.
Sheza Alibi, with Jamie Melham riding at 49kg, has been firm in the market despite drawing gate 13 of 16 and trying to become the first filly to win since champion Sunline in 1999.
McEvoy believed Sheza Alibi was a deserving favourite but said, “I don’t think it’s a two-horse race by any means”. He gets his first chance with Autumn Boy, which bounced back from Randwick defeat to easily win the Rosehill Guineas at 2000m.
“I was actually quite taken by her, even before I sat on her, off her runs in Queensland,” he said of Sheza Alibi.
“She didn’t have a lot of luck in running [in the Tattersall’s], but she gave me a really good feel.
“I actually remember walking back into the rooms and having a joke with a few of the other Sydney riders that I might have found one here. Then she ended up getting moved to Melbourne and has gone from strength to strength.
“But my fellow, he’s got a great record as well. He’s going back into a mile race with blinkers back on and the last time he had that scenario is when he won the Caulfield Guineas.
“I think he can make use of the draw to some degree, and we’re just going to need a bit of room when we need it, but he has the quality to get himself into the race when I ask him.
“We might be able to reverse the roles to some degree. It’s going to be an interesting race because there’s a little bit of tactical speed from other runners, so where the filly ends up remains to be seen.”
Noffke said the loss to Autumn Boy at Eagle Farm was when he realised Sheza Alibi was a special talent.
“She was three-wide, Autumn Boy was three wide all the way [behind her], and I think Kerrin just probably didn’t realise until after the race, how it might have got away from us a little bit,” Noffke said.
“But Autumn Boy is an outstanding horse. I couldn’t say a bad word against him, but I’d be happy to beat him again.”
Meanwhile, Randwick trainer John O’Shea had his application for a stay of proceedings while appealing a two-month disqualification refused by the Racing Appeals Tribunal on Friday.
Racing NSW stewards originally banned O’Shea for four months after he pleaded guilty to three charges of improper conduct stemming from an argument with two RNSW veterinarians following the scratching of Bev’s Nine at Rosehill on February 21.
O’Shea was granted a stay to appeal the severity of the sanction, which was quashed and replaced with a two-month disqualification this week. The stay application rejections means the stable will continue to operate under co-trainer Tom Charlton’s name, at least until O’Shea next appeal.
Schiller sees history repeating
Jockey Tyler Schiller has a sense of deja vu with Briasa in the $3 million TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) as he hunts another Doncaster-Derby day triumph.
Schiller took the Team Hawkes-trained grey to victory in the group 1 TJ Smith last year and scored his greatest win a year earlier with Celestial Legend in the $4 million Doncaster.
The five-time group 1 winner partners Briasa ($6.50) again in what shapes as a classic edition of the TJ Smith also starring Tentyris ($3.50), Joliestar ($4), Jimmysstar ($5) and Giga Kick ($6).
Briasa faces a tricky draw in eight of nine, but Schiller said he could follow speedster Overpass, drawn in seven, across and find a prominent position to launch off late. Briasa jumped from three, on the immediate outside of Overpass, last year before overhauling him late for a narrow win.
Like last year, Briasa heads to the TJ Smith second-up off a fourth from a wide gate in the Galaxy. This year, though, he defied an unsuitable soft track and four extra kilograms to finish even closer.
If predicted showers stayed away, Schiller was confident Briasa could improve again.
“He’s done nothing wrong, it was just carrying a big weight on probably a track that wasn’t ideal for him [in the Galaxy],” Schiller said.
“If it stays firm this weekend, I’d say he will perform a bit better.
“There’s definitely some really good horses there and he’s going to have to bring his A-game, but it’s probably a similar set-up to last year with Overpass drawn just inside him, he can just come across with him.
“I think in the Everest [when eighth from a wide draw] he didn’t jump as well as what we were hoping, but he’s been jumping really well this prep, so we should be outside leader or one-one. Second-up is usually the best run of his prep.”
Schiller links with Steparty ($19), for Victorian trainer Paul Preusker, in the Doncaster. The five-year-old gelding carries just 51.5kg, has gate six and was just over a length away in fifth last start in the All-Star Mile.
“I thought his All-Star Mile run was fantastic,” he said.
“He got stuck wide and he’s given [runner-up] Evaporate the same weight there, and on the weekend he gets three kilos off him. He was beaten only a length off a tough run and he’s got the right barrier to pop in and get a conservative run, and with the light weight, I think he will be strong to the line.”
