The Group I VRC Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday has all the makings of an epic race, a champion young mare, a superstar older stallion and a much loved aging warrior chasing immortality, whose camp are you in?
Read the full race history and run down here.
Top Pick: SHEZA ALIBI
Can’t find a reason to go against the favourite.
The first 3YO filly since mighty Sunline to win the Doncaster.
The first filly since Valicare in 1926 to win it at odds-on, unleashing an unbelievable last to first finishing burst and storming away by four and a half lengths, leading race caller Darren Flindell to utter the immortal words
What have we just seen
The first filly to win the G1 Randwick Guineas since champion Mosheen in 2012 and again - it was a one act affair.
This startling talent lost no admirers when a fighting second to glamour mare Autumn Glow first up in the Winx Stakes. She won her only start here, and Flemington is her sort of track.
Previously trained in Queensland by Kris Hansen, once her bigtime talent was revealed, Sheza Alibi was transferred into the stable of Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman.
A second to Autumn Boy in a Listed race at Eagle Farm at two gave notice of her promise, but that's the last time the subsequent G1 Caulfield Guineas hero had the better of her.
Since then Sheza Alibi has done nothing short of pummel him into submission, and I don't see that changing here, good horse that he is!
Sheza was third to Darley super colt Tentyris in the Gothic Stakes on resuming at three, and when she got to the mile her performances were devastating, there's no other word to describe it.
Now the veteran of 11 starts for 7 wins and 4 placings, the now 4yo mare has rewarded her owner Fred Noffkey with more than $3.9 million in prize money and the sort of thrills that just don't have a price tag.
It's every racing enthusiast's wildest dream come true - but where did this freakish talent arise from?
Likeable Queensland farmer Noffke purchased Sheza Alibi for $10,000 as a weanling when the daughter of Saxon Warrior (JPN) was offered by Middlebrook Valley Lodge on Inglis Digital in June 2023.
It wasn't sheer luck though - Noffke had done plenty of research before bidding.
“I liked the consistency within the family. They all ran, they all won and they were all fertile” he told the media, after watching his filly career away to one of the great Doncaster wins of the modern era.
Sheza Alibi was the fourth of five foals and remains the only winner to date from her dam Sheza Gypsy, a moderately talented but genuine winner of six races, sired by Flying Spur's G2 Silver Slipper winner Shaft.
While he has only two stakeswinners to his name and stands on a modest fee, the well related Shaft is from the great Princess Tracy family and thus closely related to the excellent broodmare sires Danasinga and Towkay, and to champion mare Typhoon Tracy etc etc- so he has always had the potential lurking to pop up in the pedigree of a superstar filly - and now he has!
Sheza Gypsy's colt by King’s Legacy named Nomadic sold for $160,000 at Inglis Classic to John Thompson Racing and Boomer Bloodstock and placed third in the Listed Bailleau last season.
The mare was not covered in 2023/4 and sold through Inglis Digital in July last year for just $1250!
She is now awaiting a foal by Newgate Farm's G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winning Zoustar son Ozzmosis.
Sheza Gypsy is a half sister to the Listed Canberra Guineas winner Rom Baro ( exp HK), and they were two of seven winners produced from the stakes placed Gypsy Mai (Our Maizcay).
The NZ bred Our Maizcay was an absolute bullet. The grandson of Marscay won 13 from 19 and defeated the likes of Flying Spur, Octagonal, Strategic, All Our Mob and Gold Ace during a six race winning streak in Australia which culminated in a three length demolition job in the Caulfield Guineas, his only G1 win. Our Maizcay won most of his races by big margins.
He was a relative stud dud, but his dam was by the Aga Khan's Dalsaan - a half brother to champion Doyoun, while his grand dam Arctic Walk produced Icelandic who was a successful sire in NZ.
Gypsy Mai's half sister Beethog was a G3 winner and produced the G2 Riesling Stakes winner Glistening to Zoustar.
Third dam Gypsy Ahlee by the Caerleon son Alquoz was unraced but a good producer; next dam War Gypsy (Rascolnik by Reliance) was a winner getter too though her offspring lacked stakes class.
The same can be said for most of the mares going back from her on Sheeza Alibi's damline, where we get gumboot-deep into some tough old Kiwi genetics. The family was introduced into NZ in the late 1890s by the importation of the interesting Australian bred mare Cantatrice.
Her sire the champion Goldsborough and second damsire Lapidist were three quarter brothers, and her own dam was even more inbred. This damline ( branch of 4-b) goes back to Blue Hen Anticipation. Her various daughters became the taproot mares of many of the number 4 families.
Sheza Alibi is the first G1 winner for Coolmore’s superbly bred, dual G1 winner Saxon Warrior in this Hemisphere, though daughters Archaic Smile and Aethelflaed are G1 placed.
The Euro Classic winning stallion shuttled to Australia for four seasons but has not returned since 2022.
His NH winner at the highest level is the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf champion Victoria Road, and he has 20 global stakes winners to date.
A son of breedshaper Deep Impact from Galileo's unbeaten champion Maybe, Saxon Warrior hails from a family that specialises in throwing elite fillies and the stallions who sire them. He certainly takes care of the pure class factor and then some.
Sheza Alibi is bred
Danehill 4f x 4m
I immediately zoom back in time to marvel at the nick between the sire Alchimist (x 2 in Galileo) and Sheza Alibi's far removed female relatives.
Galileo's grand dam Allegretta was sired by dual German HOTY Lombard, a son of Agio out of Aralia ( Alchimist x Aster)
Alchimist's sire Herold traces to Crofts Spinster, a half sister to the abovementioned mare Anticipation, Sheza's ancestress - and the affinities build as the generations progress toward the present!
Along the way we have Welcome Lu sired by the German import Lucullus (who is a five star nick for Galileo) from Lady Birdwood - her sire the VRC St Leger winner Finland was a particularly inbred member of the 4-b tribe. The greatness of Galileo and his dam has truly “recognised” and galvanised these old lines, humbly but faithfully carried forward by the mares of Sheza Alibi's family.
Going back to the less esoteric, we have sex balanced duplication of Halo to enhance the double of Danehill, also of Mr Prospector, Northern Dancer and Ahonoora.
Much linebreeding to the 1-w family abounds - Halo, Sir Ivor, Hail To Reason and Habitat all tail male to Turn-To, while Borealis x 2 , My Babu, Ahonoora's grandsire Klairon, Hotfoot and Rascolnik are all his relatives.
Another strongly linebred family is the one to which Sunday Silence belongs, La Fleche / Cinna ( 3-e). Saxon Warrior provides a line to his relative Indian Ridge while on the dam side of this pedigree we have Umidwar ( x 2 in Hotfoot) and his sister Uidapur through a lesser seen avenue to the family in Hindostan. Beau Pere, carried by Danehill, is a direct descendant of Cinna.
Blue Hens Lalun, La Troienne, Selene and Alope all feature prominently.
How far can she go this Spring?
Sheza will enjoy getting back on top of the ground and is unbeaten second up.
Luke Nolen jumps aboard and the dynamic duo will launch from barrier 7.
Next Best: SIR DELIUS
While Sheza is the “bolt from the blue” champion we all love to see, Sir Delius is the exact opposite - bred in the purple by the world's best stallion from a great European family, he was a headline horse from the moment he sold for 1.3 million Guineas ( the sale-topper) at the 2024 Tattersalls Horses In Training Sale, when snapped up by De Burgh Equine / McKeever Bloodstock and Go Bloodstock to be placed with the Waterhouse / Bott team in Sydney.
The stallion’s big ownership group is headed by Sir Owen Glenn of Go Bloodstock, whose silks he races in, and Frank and Christine Cook.
As a colt, Sir Delius was originally purchased by MV Magnier from the Tattersalls December Foal Sale in 2021 for 675,000 guineas, and he did his early racing for Coolmore.
Now a magnificent looking six year old entire, Sir Delius has raced just 7 times for 4 wins and 3 placings which have earned connections more than $4.7 million.
He was G1 placed in France and eighth in the Arc of 2024, and hit the ground running when he won the G3 JRA Chairman's at his Australian debut in Brisbane before notching up back to back WFA G1s in the Underwood / Turnbull last spring.
After his Turnbull triumph over the great Via Sistina, the world was the big boy’s oyster but a set of somewhat controversial vet scans crushed the dream, as we all know .
He was back in the Autumn to defeat another great mare Autumn Glow in what was widely regarded as the race of the Autumn Carnival, the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes. The son of Frankel posted a spectacular 2.2 length win over the ever- dangerous Lindermann with the mare losing no fans in her brave third.
Sir Delius has twice placed at 1600m in his two Australian first up starts, unlucky not to pip Lindermann In the Chelmsford.
He's got to be a massive winning chance but I think Sheza is the more natural miler, and she's got the fitness edge on him too.
Nevertheless Sir Delius is pure class and he could make a spring-defining statement here.
Sir Delius is bred
Northern Dancer 4m,5m x 7m
Miswaki 4f x 4f
He is a full brother to the stakes winning, multiple G2 placed Juan Elcano and a half brother to the G3 winner Nkosikazi (Cape Cross) and is the best of five winners from the royally bred Daylami mare Whatami, a close relation of the Champion US Turf mare Uni.
Sir Delius is a member of the globally dominant Eljazzi family (7-a). His grand dam Wosaita by Nijinsky's HOTY grandson Generous was a half sister to Rafha, dam of the breedshaper Invincible Spirit, also of Kodiac; and to Al Anood, the dam of Pride Of Dubai.
Darley's young gun and HOTY Pinatubo is another highly promising sire from this sire- making tribe.
Eljazzi's tail female line is that of Danzig and as with that sire and his relations Rockefella and Bletchingly, linebreeding to this family has proved exceptionally effective!
As for the sire of Sir Delius, Frankel, well what can be said - he was a freak on the track and has proved to be of the same unicorn quality in the stud.
Frankel's third damsire Stage Door Johnny finds much in common genetically with the damsire of Generous, Master Derby - they both descend from daughters of matriarch Illuminata (1-l) and have damlines that are strongly linebred to her tribe.
Sir Delius is linebred and sex balanced to Blue Hens La Troienne (Buckpasser, Bimelech, Caerleon) and her half sister Adargatis;
To Lalun ( Never Bend, Bold Reason)
To Black Ray ( ancestress of Blushing Groom and Mill Reef)
To St Marguerite ( ancestress of Bold Reason and Generous);
and among others his pedigree is sex balanced to Mossborough, Raise A Native, Hail To Reason and Crafty Admiral.
Sir Delius steps out for Craig Williams, who has struck up a bond with the stallion and is already a 3 x G1 winner on him.
Willo and Sir Delius will commence their charge from barrier 9.
Roughie: MR BRIGHTSIDE
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
‘Cause I'm Mr Brightside!
There's statistics - and then there’s great horses, and Mr Brightside is out to defy all odds.
With the winkers fitted, the nine year old will go into battle without his best mate Willo, who pilots rival Sir Delius as that galloper aims towards the biggest of spring riches.
Williams has been aboard in all but four of Mr B's lifetime starts, and Saturday will notch up a half century of runs for the Lindsay Park warhorse, who has run in more G1 miles than most of us can remember!
Three Makybes, two Doncasters, a Champions Mile, All Star Mile plus multiple placings in the last two and the King Charles III in Sydney, make up just a portion of Mr B's racetrack exploits at the highest level.
The last non-Willo shaped jockey to steer Mr B to victory was Mark Zahra in the 2023 Doncaster, and Blake Shinn gets the call-up here - but Mr Brightside is one of those rare racehorses that barely requires human intervention to win G1 races. He just loves his job.
The sentimental favourite beat a number of his rivals here home fair and square when runner up in the Memsie to the rampaging Beiwacht, the same lead up result he has posted prior to his last two Makybe Diva wins.
Possibly en route to his fourth Cox Plate, the ageless warrior will attempt to notch up G1 number eleven on Saturday.
The son of Bullbars has banked more than $19 million to date, and his career is truly one of the Australasian racing's great rags-to-riches tales!
There are horses which spring from unfashionable matings which give no obvious clue to the greatness embedded within the foal-to-be.
But Brightside isn't really one of them - he just slipped through the cracks. His fourth dam is Cambridge Stud's original Blue Hen Taiona by Sovereign Edition, and his dam Lilahjay was foaled there.
Thanks to the deeds of her great son Lilahjay was awarded NZTBA Broodmare Of The Year, following in the hoofsteps of Taiona who won that great honour twice.
Lilahjay (by Tavistock) is out of the unplaced Keeper mare Keepable, a half sister to 3 x G1 winning mare Foxwood. Their dam Delia's Choice by Sir Tristram was a winning full sister out of Taiona, to G1 winners and champions Gurner's Lane and Sovereign Red and to the top mare Trichelle, from a family littered with black type performers.
Lilahjay sold for $3,000 online with this pedigree and with her only foal to race at that time already a 2 x sprint winner in HK. Hindsight is a gift!
Mr Brightside was bred by Ray Johnson in partnership with his late wife Martha, and sold as a yearling for $22,000 at the 2019 NZB May Sale.
He failed to meet his $50,000 reserve when offered at the NZB Ready to Run Sale and Ray bought his horse back on gavelhouse.com for just $7,750.
Mr Brightside was snapped up by Lindsay Park Bloodstock after being scouted at trials in NZ, and they head his joyous syndicate of owners who have been taken on a ride few will ever be fortunate enough to experience!
Mr Brightside became the first G1 winner for ill-fated champion Tavistock as a broodmare sire.
His own sire Bullbars is out of the noted Blue Hen Accessories, by the globetrotting superhorse Singspiel - and Mr B is his best performer by the length of ten Flemington straights.
Mr Brightside gets much of his brilliant turn of foot from his grandsire, the American sprint bullet Elusive Quality.
Mr Brightside is bred
Northern Dancer 5m x 5m
Sir Ivor 5f x 5m sex balanced
Sadler's Wells 5m x 4m
He is linebred to Nasrullah through Secretariat, Blushing Groom, Nashua and Grey Sovereign (and that stallion’s three quarter brother Nimbus).
Keeper is important here, as he traces to the same taproot mare as Grey Sovereign and Nimbus, and is bred x 2 to His Majesty over Secretariat - while Elusive Quality carries His Majesty's full brother Graustark, and is bred x 2 to Secretariat.
Flemington will go crazy if the gallant old horse can defy history once again.
It might not be the once-in-a-century delirium that greeted Makybe Diva on her return to scale after her third Melbourne Cup - but if Mr Brightside can win the race named in her honour for the fourth time, the reception will be something very special.
Mr B and Blake Shinn will go for glory from barrier 2.
Blowout: HALF YOURS
The reigning Cups champion wasn't bad, but nor was he at his best in his winter campaign - I'm sure he's going to relish returning to the scene of his historic triumph.
He's by a son of Teofilo and that breed love Flemington so much - love it.
Not to mention he is out of a daughter of Makybe Diva’s damsire Desert King!
The Half Yours story has got everything - twists of fate, unbelievable highs and crashing lows.
Just three weeks after that unforgettable triumph on the first Tuesday catapulted the sire of Half Yours into the national breeding spotlight, he was gone due to a freak paddock accident.
He was the beautifully bred but unheralded Teofilo son St Jean (IRE), a G3 Auckland Cup winner standing at owner Grant Dwyer's Brackley Park stud in Victoria since 2017.
After Half Yours began his meteoric rise to the top, breeders took a second look at this stallion who descended from one of the bluest of Blue Hens, Highclere.
St Jean was the first Victorian stallion to sire a Melbourne Cup winner since 1973.
Half Yours was bred by Janice McKenna in Victoria from the placed Desert King mare La Gazelle, a half sister to the tough G3 winning stayer Moudre who twice placed in this very race at huge odds.
The gelding was purchased for $305,000 from the 2024 Inglis Digital November (Late) Online Sale by Belmont Bloodstock/McEvoy Mitchell Racing when offered as part of the Halo Racing Unreserved Reduction Sale following the sad passing of Colin McKenna.
At the time of the auction, Half Yours had raced five times for two wins and earnings of $40,000.
His record now stands at 19 starts for 8 wins, 3 placings, more than $9.3 million in prize money and assured equine immortality!
His syndicate of owners headed by Kildalton Park Racing have truly lived the dream.
Half Yours is bred
Danehill 4f x 3m sex balanced
Bustino 5f x 5f
Northern Dancer 5m x 5m,5m,5m
His first four dams failed to win a race!
He descends from a sister to the G2 winning sprinter Touch Of Genius from the stakes placed Toolern Gold, a 1000m winner by Vain.
But this is a branch of the 7-d family - a family which has produced the likes of champions Prince Cortauld, Gurner's Lane, Veandercross, Sovereign Red, Mr Brightside, Ka Ying Rising and many more exceptional thoroughbreds including the mighty Better Loosen Up, who shares a direct ancestress Alecon (by the freakishly talented 1952 Melbourne Cup winner Dalray) with Half Yours.
Her dam Boot Maid was bred on a cross of full brother and sister Popingaol and the legendary imported sire Magpie, by Dark Ronald out of matriarch Chelandry. Their half sister Popinjay is the ancestress of Teofilo.
Linebreeding subject Bustino was out of a mare by Doutelle, from the same family as St Jean himself (2-f Alope) to which also belong Round Table - sex balanced in this pedigree by Grosvenor's three quarter brother Tristino - and Aureole, carried by Sharp Edge.
It's hard to see six year old Half Yours emerging triumphant over the likes of Sheza Alibi, Sir Delius and the rest, but I won't be surprised to see him absolutely rattling home into a placing.
Jamie Melham is back aboard Half Yours and the Cups dream team will jump from barrier 12.
