Godolphin‘s former VRC Oaks champ Zardozi is favourite to return to winning form at Caulfield on Saturday leading markets on a class edition of the Peter Young Stakes 2025 in Melbourne.

A key lead-up to the Australian Cup in a fortnight’s time, this year’s Group 2 $500,000 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) has moved from February to its new mid-March slot and has drawn a quality field of weight-for-age gallopers.

Current Peter Young Stakes odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au have the James Cummings trained Kingman mare Zardozi as the firm favourite with the four-year-old stayer racing third-up and fit against just five rivals.

She won Sydney’s Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes on this day 12 months ago and is out to break a year-long winning drought further south this weekend.

While it has been a long time between wins, Zardozi has been very competitive in the country’s best staying races since including top four performances in the Vinery Stud Stakes (3rd), ATC Oaks (2nd), The Metropolitan (2nd), Caulfield Cup (4th) and last November’s Melbourne Cup (4th).

This autumn she has had two lead-up runs when running a disappointing first-up eighth in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes at Randwick behind Fangirl, the form of which was firmly franked in the Group 1 Verry Elleegant Stakes, before improving when third to Marble Arch last time out in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes at Flemington on March 1.

Zardozi is drawn barrier two in the small six-starter field with Jamie Melham to ride and pays $2.10 in the latest Peter Young Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au.

She is also rated a $7 all-in fancy in futures betting on the 2025 Australian Cup through Ladbrokes.com.au, a price sure to firm if she salutes for the punters on Saturday.

The danger occupying the second line of Peter Young Stakes betting this season is another Group 1 winning mare, the Ciaron Maher trained Pride Of Jenni following closely at $2.60.

A winner of over $10 million in stakes across her impressive 35 start career to date, the seven-year-old daughter of Pride Of Dubai resumes here looking to return to her better form.

She is yet to win first-up from eight previous resuming runs and was last seen running a disappointing 11th of 11 runners in the Group 1 Champions Mile at Flemington last Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Things were going amiss for her late last prep, but her class is not to be denied.

This time last year she was winning the All-Star Mile before an Australian Cup second and a recent winning Cranbourne hit out suggests she can come back in style drawn barrier three for Craig Newitt.

Maher is also represented in the line-up by Future History ($8.50) drawn the outside gate with the Showcasing seven-year-old coming off a seventh in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes at Headquarters.

Up in distance second-up and he’s a definite improver who represents the value.

The other single-figure hopeful at $9.50 is the Symon Wilde trained Rebel Raider mare Plenty Of Ammo who ran sixth fresh in the Blamey.

Resuming European import Que Tempesta ($13) for Team Hayes and last year’s Doomben Cup winning eight-year-old Bois D’argent ($21) for Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald complete the line-up.

The 2025 Peter Young Stakes is set to run as Caulfield Race 6 at 3:05pm (AEDT) on Saturday’s 10-race card.

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