The Underwood Stakes is one of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival’s most influential early weight-for-age contests, and Races.com.au readers are already tuning into the latest Underwood Stakes odds and key Underwood Stakes betting predictions as the middle-distance stars return. Run over 1800 metres, this Group 1 is a major stepping-stone for elite gallopers heading towards races including the Cox Plate and the big staying features later in the spring. With proven WFA performers resuming, rising talents looking to stamp themselves, and powerhouse stables unveiling their headline runners, the Underwood Stakes consistently delivers high-class racing, strong tempo and market-shaping results — giving punters a crucial early read on which horses are ready to peak and which are building towards the carnival’s biggest prizes.

2026 Underwood Stakes Results

Stay tuned for the official 2026 Underwood Stakes results and finishing order and to see what horses could be Caulfield Cup bound this spring!

• 1st: TBD
• 2nd: TBD
• 3rd: TBD

Winning Margin: TBD

Winning Time: TBD

Underwood Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Underwood Stakes 2026 Tips on the popular spring showdown this season.

Underwood Stakes News

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The Underwood Stakes is a Group 1 race run during the renowned Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival in late September.

The feature event of Underwood Stakes Day, this 1800m race is run under weight-for-age conditions and is currently worth $1 million in stakes as of 2025.

In 2025, the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m), a key Group 1 handicap of the spring, is set to return to its traditional September slot after a temporary shift to mid-November. This move restores the September meeting to a prestigious dual Group 1 race day alongside the Underwood Stakes and re-establishes its historical connection with the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m), run three weeks later on Caulfield Guineas Day.

The Underwood was moved in 2021 to Sandown Hillside bringing Group 1 racing to the Sandown track for the first time in 25 years.

Underwood Stakes Day returned to Caulfield Racecourse for the 2023 edition.

Key lead-up races to this event that Underwood Stakes runners may come via include the John F. Feehan Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley, the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington a fortnight before and the Memsie Stakes (1400m) in August.

So You Think (2010) was the last horse to complete the Memsie Stakes – Underwood Stakes double without a run in between. In 2017 the Kiwi-trained mare Bonneval completed the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes (now the John F Feehan) – Underwood Stakes double. All of these quality weight-for-age Group races may be used as preparation for the Underwood and then the more lucrative and prestigious races held later in the carnival.

The Underwood Stakes is the first weight-for-age race run over a distance greater than 1400m and provides horses with an excellent opportunity to step up their race distance in preparation for the 2000m and 2400m events to follow. This race is definitely worth keeping an eye on as it has been a solid guide to the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate in recent years.

In 2020 the Underwood Stakes winner Russian Camelot went on to run third in that year’s Cox Plate trifecta.

The 2021 Underwood Stakes form was franked with the winner Zaaki atoning for his Cox Plate scratching with a Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes victory that spring and success in the 2022 The All-Star Mile the following autumn.

Zaaki returned for a title defence in 2022 but only managed to run third behind all-the-way winner Alligator Blood, but he did go on to salute in the Mackinnon Stakes (run as the VRC Champions Stakes) again that November.

Alligator Blood went on to frank the 2022 Underwood Stakes form with a win in Flemington’s Group 1 Champions Mile that Melbourne Cup Carnival as well as the 2023 Futurity Stakes the next autumn.

Alligator Blood returned to go back-to-back in the 2023 Underwood Stakes becoming the race’s 13th multiple winner and the first to do so on successive years since Northerly (2001-02).

The 2023 Underwood Stakes form was franked with Alligator Blood going on to win the Group 1 Might And Power (2000m) next start before third place finishes in that year’s Cox Plate trifecta and Champions Mile.

The form also held with the sixth placegetter in the Underwood Stakes results, the Anthony & Sam Freedman-trained Without A Fight going on to claim the 2023 Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup double.

The 2024 Underwood Stakes form was franked by the winner Buckaroo who went on to run second in both the Turnbull Stakes and Caulfield Cup that spring.

Buckaroo returned in the 2025 Underwood Stakes only to be narrowly denied by Sir Delius in a thrilling finish.

In 2025, Sir Delius became the latest horse to complete the Underwood Stakes – Turnbull Stakes double.

2026 Underwood Stakes Betting

Horses that ran well in lead-up races like Moonee Valley’s Feehan Stakes and the Memsie Stakes dominate the Underwood Stakes betting markets each spring.

Favourites at the top of the Underwood Stakes odds on race day however have a poor recent record with the only ones to salute for the punters since So You Think (2010) being Black Heart Bart (2016), Russian Camelot ($1.55 in 2020), Zaaki ($1.18 in 2021), Alligator Blood ($3.60) for his second in 2023, and Sir Delius ($2.10 in 2025) who handed Waterhouse & Bott their third win in four years.

Black Heart Bart meanwhile incredibly won the race again three years later as a $101 roughie in 2019.

Underwood Stakes Field

2026 Underwood Stakes Form

The Underwood Stakes form guide is the key resource Races.com.au punters use to assess every runner heading into one of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival’s most important early weight-for-age tests. Because the Underwood Stakes often shapes the form for major middle-distance features — including the Cox Plate and even the big staying races later in the spring — the form guide helps punters compare class, fitness, tactical setup and stable intent to determine which horses are ready to peak at 1800m.

What Punters Should Look for in the Underwood Stakes Form Guide:

• Weight-for-age strength — Proven WFA performers usually hold a clear advantage at 1800m.
• 1600-2000m form — Horses with strong mile or 2000m credentials are typically well suited to this trip.
• Second-up improvement — Many runners elevate sharply second-up, especially those targeting Cox Plate-type races.
• Speed map — Identifying leaders, on-pacers and swoopers helps predict tempo and race shape.
• Barrier influence — Caulfield’s tighter turns make barriers and early positioning more important than at Flemington.
• Stable patterns — Top trainers often use this race as a key spring stepping-stone for their headline middle-distance horses.
• Market movement — Early firmers can indicate strong trackwork, favourable maps or stable confidence.
• Spring targets — Horses building towards the Cox Plate or Caulfield Cup may still be improving rather than peaking here.

FULL 2026 UNDERWOOD STAKES FORM GUIDE

2026 Underwood Stakes Nominations

The 2026 Underwood Stakes nominations are released by Racing Victoria on the Monday of race week and will be published in full below once announced.

2026 Underwood Stakes Field

Each season the Underwood Stakes field attracts a gun line-up of potential Cox Plate and Caulfield Cup horses coming off lead-up runs in races including the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes (now known as the Feehan Stakes) or Flemington’s Makybe Diva Stakes. In 2016 Black Heart Bart improved on a lead-up second in the Makybe Diva Stakes over the mile to win the Underwood Stakes, while Bonneval (2017) completed the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam – Underwood Stakes double.

In 2023 the defending Underwood Stakes winner Alligator Blood won again on a quick back-up off a Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes second over the Flemington mile the weekend prior.

The official 2026 Underwood Stakes field of final acceptances will be released on the Wednesday leading up to Underwood Stakes Day and listed in full below along with the Underwood Stakes barrier draw.

Underwood Stakes History

Whittier was the inaugural Underwood Stakes winner in 1924 and followed up this success claiming victory the next year as well. The event began as a principal race run over eight furlongs.

For one year in 1943 the distance was decreased to seven furlongs but went back to the original length the next year. That year, in 1944, there was two runnings of the race, with both Amana and Tea Cake seeing victory. In 1949 the length was increased to nine furlongs and then a few years later in 1954 another distance jump saw the event raced over 10 furlongs. With Australia’s adoption of the metric system, the race was converted to 2000m in 1972 and not long after in 1979 the event was elevated to Group 1 status. In 1994, the distance was cut to 1800m and has remained the same through until today.

The Underwood Stakes has had a number of elite horses claim victory including Phar Lap (1931), Rain Lover (1969), Bonecrusher (1986), Octagonal (1996), Tie The Knot (1998), Northerly (2001 & 2002), Weekend Hussler (2008), So You Think (2010), Russian Camelot (2020), and one of the race’s shortest-ever favourites Zaaki (2021).

Underwood Stakes results play a major role in form understanding for punters who follow the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

Alligator Blood (2022, 2023) is the latest two-time Underwood Stakes winner saluting for the first time at Sandown and then defending his title at Caulfield the following year.

Underwood Stakes Previous Race Winners