The Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained import Sir Delius is a clear favourite to return to winning form in Saturday’s Group 1 $1 million Underwood Stakes at Caulfield.
Buckaroo defends his title in the 2025 Underwood Stakes this weekend. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
The nicely bred Frankel entire, who is also a key hope for the Spring Cups, is set to face a top-class field of stayers in a race with a rich history of producing champions like Phar Lap and Northerly.
Sir Delius is the top fancy at $2.60 through Ladbrokes in Underwood Stakes betting to secure his second win from three Australian starts.
The import was a close second in the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes last time out, and with improvement expected over the 1800m, he is a major threat.
Waterhouse & Bott are chasing their third Underwood Stakes win in four years after back-to-back victories with Alligator Blood (2022-23).
The defending champion, the Chris Waller-trained Buckaroo ($4.60), is also a major contender.
He won this race last year and went on to run second in the Caulfield Cup.
He comes into the race in great form after an eye-catching third in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes.
Jockey Blake Shinn, who hasn’t ridden him since 2024, will be back in the saddle, and he is a major player to go back-to-back.
Waller has a strong four-horse assault on the race, with the Canadian import Moira ($7.50) being his other major contender.
The mare, a winner of the Breeders Cup, is looking for her first Australian win and showed she is a sharp improver with a strong second-up run behind Desert Lightning on Moonee Valley’s So You Think Stakes.
The other single-figure chance in the race is the Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman-trained Desert Lightning ($7).
He has been heavily backed after beating Moira home in the So You Think Stakes and has a solid record fresh.
He was also a good runner-up in the Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes in mid-August.
The Underwood Stakes is a key lead-up race for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, and this year’s field is full of potential.
The race is set to run as Caulfield Race 7 at 3:40 pm (AEST) on Saturday.
2025 Underwood Stakes Field
| No | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Barrier | Weight | Age | Sex | Last Starts | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knight’s Choice | Robbie Dolan | J G Symons & S Laxon | 6 | 59kg | 6 | G | 051×6 | $5,846,400 |
| 2 | Buckaroo | Blake Shinn | Chris Waller | 8 | 59kg | 6 | G | 970×3 | $2,395,129 |
| 3 | Smokin’ Romans | John Allen | Ciaron Maher | 2 | 59kg | 9 | G | 10×72 | $2,359,265 |
| 4 | Desert Lightning | Luke Nolen | Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman | 3 | 59kg | 6 | G | 24×21 | $1,578,233 |
| 5 | Casino Seventeen | Billy Egan | Gavin Bedggood | 9 | 59kg | 8 | G | x2765 | $1,441,546 |
| 6 | Land Legend | Michael Dee | Chris Waller | 12 | 59kg | 5 | G | 68×39 | $1,328,517 |
| 7 | Middle Earth | Mark Zahra | Ciaron Maher | 1 | 59kg | 5 | G | 159×5 | $691,126 |
| 8 | Golden Path | Jordan Childs | Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr | 7 | 59kg | 6 | G | 65×31 | $620,650 |
| 9 | Sir Delius | Craig Williams | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | 11 | 59kg | 4 | H | 8x1x2 | $439,638 |
| 10 | Moira | Damian Lane | Chris Waller | 4 | 57kg | 6 | M | x0x42 | $4,532,429 |
| 11 | Zardozi | Jamie Melham | Ciaron Maher | 10 | 57kg | 5 | M | 230×5 | $2,495,000 |
| 12 | Anisette | Ben Melham | Chris Waller | 5 | 57kg | 5 | M | 9x0x6 | $1,455,055 |
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