The Victoria Racing Club wants to create an extraordinary three-horse match race between Ka Ying Rising, Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi at Flemington.
VRC chief racing officer Leigh Jordon has publicly declared the club’s interest in staging the proposed champions-versus-champions contest during the 2027 autumn carnival.
“VRC would love to host the world’s biggest match race here at Flemington,” Jordon told Giddy Up With Gareth Hall.
“Ka Ying Rising, Sheza Alibi, Autumn Glow—what a match race that would be.”
No agreement has been reached with the horses’ connections, Racing Victoria or the Hong Kong Jockey Club, while the distance, prizemoney and race conditions remain undecided.
The Australian Turf Club is also attempting to bring the three champions together in Sydney, potentially through a special race or revamped George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill.
The proposal is therefore considerably closer to an ambitious public pitch than a confirmed race.
However, it has created a fascinating question: if Ka Ying Rising, Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi met under fair conditions, which champion would win?
VRC Wants a Contest With No Excuses
Although traditional match races involve two runners, the VRC’s proposal would restrict the field to the three headline horses.
Jordon believes a small field would remove many of the variables that can prevent the best horse from winning a conventional Group 1 race.
“I think the important thing is it needs to be a match race,” Jordon said, according to The Straight.
“If it’s a race, you’ve got 10 or 12 horses. You don’t want them saying, ‘I got blocked for a run, I got caught wide, there was track bias’.
“If there’s three champions, champions v champions, in a match race at Flemington, whether it’s over 1400 metres or whatever the distance, we know the track plays fair, there’s no excuses. It’s going to see the best horse win.”
Australian Cup Day or Super Saturday have been identified as possible homes for the race in March 2027.
Jordon believes the event could triple attendance and attract worldwide attention, particularly through Ka Ying Rising’s enormous following in Hong Kong.
The ATC has offered a competing vision.
Chief executive Steve McMahon suggested the three horses could meet over 1500 metres at Rosehill on Golden Slipper Day, either in a standalone international challenge or a special edition of the George Ryder Stakes.
Before either proposal can progress, the three sets of connections must decide they want the race—and agree upon conditions that give every horse a legitimate chance.
Ka Ying Rising Brings the Strongest Record
Ka Ying Rising would enter the contest as the highest-rated and most accomplished sprinter of the three.
The David Hayes-trained gelding has won 21 of his 23 starts, finishing second in the other two, and is riding a 20-race winning sequence.
His official Hong Kong Jockey Club record includes victories in The Everest, Hong Kong Sprint, Centenary Sprint Cup, Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup and two Chairman’s Sprint Prizes.
He has demonstrated devastating speed over 1200 metres while also winning consecutive editions of the Group 1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup over 1400 metres at Sha Tin.
That second achievement is particularly important.
Ka Ying Rising cannot simply be dismissed as a pure 1200-metre horse incapable of carrying his speed any further. He won the 2026 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup by three-and-a-half lengths in 1:19.36.
Owner John Messara admitted the temptation to test Autumn Glow against him in The Everest was considerable before deciding the Randwick mile was the more suitable spring target.
“We looked closely at The Everest and there was a part of me that wanted to try and beat Ka Ying Rising,” Messara said.
“But the reality is Ka Ying Rising is as good as any sprinter I’ve ever seen and 1200 metres is his best distance.”
Ka Ying Rising would be the clear horse to beat over 1200 metres.
The debate becomes much more interesting at 1400 metres and completely different at 1600 metres.
Autumn Glow Has Already Beaten Sheza Alibi
Autumn Glow earned the 2025–26 Australian Horse of the Year award after developing into the country’s leading weight-for-age mare.
The Chris Waller-trained star has won 12 of her 13 starts, with her only defeat coming when third over 2000 metres in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
She returned to her preferred distance in the Group 1 Winx Stakes at Randwick and defeated Sheza Alibi by 1.39 lengths over 1400 metres.
Autumn Glow received the same 57 kilograms as her rival under weight-for-age conditions and settled much closer to the speed before producing the superior acceleration.
Waller welcomed the decision by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman to run Sheza Alibi rather than avoiding an early clash between the mares.
“It was great that Peter Moody and the owners brought the mare up to Sydney,” Waller said after the Winx Stakes.
“People come to the races because they want to see these great horses racing each other. We don’t always want the clashes, but it is important for the sport.
“We have come out of round one pretty well but I’m pretty sure there will be round two or round three.”
Autumn Glow’s tactical versatility would be a significant advantage in a three-horse field.
She possesses enough gate speed to hold a prominent position, relaxes during her races and can accelerate sharply when James McDonald asks her to improve.
McDonald has described her as possessing a stride unlike any horse he has ridden.
“She knows when she’s in a race,” McDonald said after the Winx Stakes.
“From the 500m to the 400m, it’s like she just powers into herself and just builds herself. She just knows.”
The uncertainty surrounds how Autumn Glow would respond if Ka Ying Rising controlled a genuinely fast tempo from the front.
She has never faced a horse with his sustained sprinting speed.
Sheza Alibi Would Not Be Making Up the Numbers
The initial discussion focused primarily upon Ka Ying Rising and Autumn Glow, but excluding Sheza Alibi would ignore one of Australian racing’s most exciting emerging stars.
The Moody and Coleman-trained mare won the Randwick Guineas before producing an extraordinary performance in the Doncaster Mile.
She settled at the rear, circled the field and defeated Autumn Boy by more than four lengths.
Sheza Alibi then chased Autumn Glow home strongly when resuming in the Winx Stakes.
Luke Nolen believed the 1400-metre distance and difference in race fitness gave Autumn Glow the advantage.
“She was a bit sharp for us,” Nolen said.
“We are in for a really good prep. She kept closing.”
Moody has repeatedly described Autumn Glow as Australia’s benchmark horse rather than attempting to diminish her achievements.
“Autumn Glow is the benchmark,” Moody told Racing.com.
“She is the best horse in the country. We’ve got to lift our bar.”
That respect should not be confused with surrender.
Moody sent Sheza Alibi to the Winx Stakes specifically because he wanted to discover whether she belonged against Australia’s best weight-for-age horses.
“We are not going up there to play marbles either,” he said before the race.
Sheza Alibi was beaten but answered the broader question.
She belongs in the contest.
The Distance Would Decide the Favourite
Finding neutral conditions presents the organisers with their greatest challenge.
A race over 1200 metres would heavily favour Ka Ying Rising. He is the world’s leading pure sprinter, a defending Everest winner and almost unbeatable when allowed to use his speed within his preferred distance range.
A mile would swing the contest towards Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi.
Autumn Glow has already established herself as an elite weight-for-age miler, while Sheza Alibi produced her most dominant performance over 1600 metres in the Doncaster.
Ka Ying Rising has never raced beyond 1400 metres.
Expecting him to defeat two exceptional milers at 1600 metres would require him to answer a stamina question neither mare faces.
That leaves 1400 metres as the logical compromise.
Ka Ying Rising has proven he can dominate at the distance. Autumn Glow is unbeaten over 1400 metres, while Sheza Alibi demonstrated in the Winx Stakes that she can compete against the country’s best at that trip.
Flemington’s long straight would also give every jockey sufficient time to make a decision without relying upon luck in running.
It would not create perfectly equal conditions—no race can—but it would give each horse a credible winning chance.
How Would the Match Race Unfold?
The small field would turn the contest into a tactical battle.
Ka Ying Rising possesses the greatest natural speed and would almost certainly control the early tempo unless Zac Purton deliberately surrendered the lead.
Autumn Glow would be expected to sit closest to him.
Her tractability allows McDonald to settle wherever necessary, but permitting Ka Ying Rising to establish a comfortable lead would be extremely dangerous.
Sheza Alibi would face the most difficult tactical decision.
Her best performance came after settling near the rear and building momentum around a larger field. In a three-horse race, dropping several lengths behind Ka Ying Rising could make the task impossible.
Nolen may need to position her closer than usual, potentially taking away some of the explosive finish that makes her so dangerous.
The race could therefore become Ka Ying Rising attempting to burn away from Autumn Glow, with Sheza Alibi building into her work late.
If the Hong Kong champion receives an uncontested lead, the mares may never reach him.
If McDonald forces him to work and remains within striking distance approaching the final 400 metres, Autumn Glow’s turn of foot becomes a major threat.
Sheza Alibi needs the strongest tempo of all three. A genuinely testing 1400 metres would bring her stamina into play and give her the chance to overwhelm both rivals late.
Who Would Win?
At 1200 metres, Ka Ying Rising wins.
At 1600 metres, Autumn Glow deserves favouritism, with Sheza Alibi capable of turning the result around if the race becomes a genuine test of stamina.
Over the proposed compromise distance of 1400 metres, Ka Ying Rising would still receive our vote.
He has won 20 consecutive races, twice proven himself at Group 1 level over the distance and possesses the tactical speed to control a three-horse contest.
Autumn Glow would be the obvious danger.
She has the superior acceleration of the two mares, can remain close to the leader and has never been beaten at 1400 metres. If any Australian horse is capable of sitting within range of Ka Ying Rising and running him down, it is likely to be her.
Sheza Alibi would probably begin as the outsider, but that assessment could change by autumn. She has had fewer weight-for-age opportunities than her two potential rivals and may still possess the greatest scope for improvement.
The verdict also depends upon the venue.
Ka Ying Rising’s experience down the Randwick straight gives Sydney an argument, while Flemington’s expansive layout and long run home would give the mares every opportunity to challenge him.
Our early 1400-metre ranking would be:
- Ka Ying Rising
- Autumn Glow
- Sheza Alibi
That order is far from certain—which is exactly why the race needs to happen.
Racing Needs to Turn the Dream Into Reality
Modern racing regularly promotes hypothetical clashes that disappear once trainers select safer targets.
This proposal can only succeed if the prizemoney is substantial, the conditions are agreed well in advance and each camp believes the contest fits its horse’s wider program.
Ka Ying Rising would need to travel from Hong Kong for an Australian autumn campaign. Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi would need to remain healthy and in training, while the administrators in Victoria or New South Wales would need to fund a race designed around three specific horses.
Those are considerable obstacles.
The idea is still worth pursuing.
Ka Ying Rising represents established international sprinting greatness. Autumn Glow is Australia’s reigning Horse of the Year. Sheza Alibi is the emerging challenger attempting to prove her spectacular rise has only begun.
Racing spends enormous amounts attempting to manufacture interest.
This time, the sport already has the story.
It only needs to place the three horses in the same barriers and let them settle the argument.
