Underwood Stakes News

Buckaroo Heads Betting on Turnbull Stakes 2024 Field

• Buckaroo Dominates 2024 Underwood Stakes Results Ahead of Spring Majors
• 2024 Underwood Stakes Field & Betting Update: Pericles v Place Du Carrousel
• Underwood Stakes 2023 Winner Alligator Blood Too Good
• Alligator Blood Leads 2023 Underwood Stakes Field & Odds
• Zaaki Heads Underwood Stakes 2022 Field & Betting Odds

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

Recently held on a Sunday, in 2024 the Underwood Stakes took place on the Saturday at Caulfield Racecourse.

The feature event of Underwood Stakes Day, this 1800m race is run under weight-for-age conditions and is currently worth $750,000 in stakes.

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 $5 million 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.

This season the Underwood Stakes 2024 took place on Saturday , September 21, 2024 at Caulfield Racecourse as a lead-up to the spring cup races and was won in dominant fashion by 3.5 length winner Buckaroo ($9) from the Chris Waller stable. 

2024 Underwood Stakes Results

• 1st: #8 Buckaroo ($9)
• 2nd: #4 Huetor
• 3rd: #2 Pericles

The spring majors are calling for Chris Waller’s progressive import Buckaroo ($9) who relished 1800m third-up in his first Melbourne run to power home by 3.5 lengths in the Underwood Stakes 2024 results at Caulfield.

Click here for the full story.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2024 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), and most recently Alligator Blood ($3.60) for his second in 2023.

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

The season’s top Underwood Stakes 2024 odds and betting market links to Ladbrokes.com.au will be provided below as soon as released.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2024 UNDERWOOD STAKES ODDS (Final Field)

2024 Underwood Stakes Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2024 UNDERWOOD STAKES FORM GUIDE

2024 Underwood Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Underwood Stakes 2024 Tips on the popular spring showdown this season.

• To Win: #2 Pericles ($3.10 at time of publish) – BET NOW

The Underwood Stakes features a competitive field of talented stayers, but the in-form Pericles, trained by James Cummings, stands out as a strong contender. With his recent lead-up win at The Valley and fitness advantage, Pericles is well-positioned to make a significant impact in the race. Despite facing tougher competition here, Pericles’s consistent performances make him a promising candidate for the Group 1 win.

2024 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 2024 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.

The Underwood Stakes 2024 final field features a quality line-up including the James Cummings-trained in-form favourite Pericles and Fawkner Park resuming ahead of the spring cup races.

Click here to read more on the key runners in the 2024 Underwood Stakes field and betting markets.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2024 Underwood Stakes Nominations

The 2024 Underwood Stakes nominations are released by Racing Victoria on the Monday of race week and will be published in full below once announced.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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.

In 2023 the Underwood Stakes returned to Caulfield Racecourse with prize money reduced from $1 million to $750,000.

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 results and winning times since 2000 are provided below.

Underwood Stakes Results

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