Dissident may not have been included in the 2014 Underwood Stakes field, but 10 talented horses are set to contest the Group 1 event at Caulfield on Saturday.

Silent Achiever has been included in the 2014 Underwood Stakes field, but is no certainty to contest the Group 1 event. Photo by: Steve Hart

Dissident was included in the Underwood Stakes nominations that were released on Monday, but trainer Peter Moody has elected not to back-up the triple Group 1 winner this weekend after he took out the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington last Saturday.

Silent Achiever has been included in the Underwood Stakes field, but trainer Roger James revealed this morning that the talented mare may not end up taking her place in the Group 1 event.

The Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) has always been the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival target for Silent Achiever, but James was unhappy with the weight allocated to his star galloper at the Melbourne Cup weights announcement yesterday and is now considering setting the six-year-old for the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 25.

Trainer Gai Waterhouse was also surprised by the Melbourne Cup weight of 56 kilograms allocated to her major chance The Offer, but the talented stayer will still take his place in the Underwood Stakes field this weekend.

The Offer stamped himself as Melbourne Cup favourite with a dominant victory in the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) at Royal Randwick on April 19 and returned to the races with a promising fifth behind The Cleaner in the Group 2 Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley on September 6.

Foreteller also made up plenty of ground late in the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes and he is set to contest the Underwood Stakes for the second year in a row.

The Dansili entire finished a disappointing 12^th in the Underwood Stakes last year, but he was not advantaged by the extremely slow early tempo in the race and has performed well in his two race starts to date this preparation.

Star Rolling returned to racing with a narrow win in the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 16, but finished a disappointing sixth in the Group 2 Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley on September 6.

Co-trainer Peter Morgan is hoping that Star Rolling can return to his best form in the Underwood Stakes and revealed yesterday that the Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Royal Randwick on October 4 could be on the agenda for the Casino Prince gelding.

Peter Moody-trained Lidari and imported galloper Crackerjack King have also been included in the Underwood Stakes field after performing fairly in the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes.

The only horse that will be taking winning form into the Underwood Stakes is David Hayes and Tom Dabernig-trained Stipulate, who stamped himself as a genuine 2014 Spring Racing Carnival contender with an impressive victory in the Listed Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock Stakes (1700m) at Caulfield on August 30.

Stipulate performed well at Group level in the United Kingdom when trained by Sir Henry Cecil and the Dansili gelding has been set for the Cox Plate after his strong first-up victory.

The 2014 Underwood Stakes field is rounded out by Lloyd Williams-owned Thought Worthy and 2013 Australian Cup winner Super Cool.