Why Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi are a “disaster” for owners

Prominent racing owner John O’Neill has called the rise of Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi a “disaster” for fellow racing owners.

The two girls are widely regarded as the best horses in Australia, and none of their current opposition look remotely close to running at their levels.

Autumn Glow boasts an undefeated record of 11 wins from 11 starts, including three Group 1s, while the three-year-old Sheza Alibi has only lost three races in her 10-start career, most recently winning the Group 1 Doncaster Mile by 4.29 lengths.

Both these girls seem near impossible to beat in the coming seasons, and the prospect of the pair continuing to dominate everything that comes their way is sending shivers down Australian owners’ spines.

Speaking on SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up, O’Neill explained that him and his ownership partner Ozzie Kheir will be doing everything they can to avoid Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi moving forward.

“From an owner's perspective, it's a disaster!” O’Neill exclaimed.

“Because we've got a lot of nice horses that are coming through, but I can't see how we can beat Autumn Glow if Autumn Glow stays sound.

“And we certainly won't beat Sheza Alibi while she's sound.

“We'll be dodging those horses - I'm sure Ozzie will be working on that.”

Reflecting on the daughter of the Saxon Warrior’s mind-boggling Doncaster victory, O’Neill was in awe at how the filly was able to destroy the entire field despite running the early part of the race from a difficult position.

“That whole situation is extraordinary because we had Gringotts in the race with 58.5 kg and all we wanted was Sheza Alibi to draw deep and potentially miss the start,” the owner explained.

“Well, Nash (Rawiller) gave our horse a perfect ride, Jamie (Melham) did miss the start (on Sheza Alibi), went back, didn't panic, sat three, four, five deep, and then just put six (lengths) on (the field) without even trying.”

Sheza Alibi’s autumn is now over, with co-trainer Peter Moody confirming that she has been sent to the paddock, while the Chris Waller-trained Autumn Glow is currently the $1.40 favourite with Sportsbet to win the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes this Saturday.

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