Underwood Stakes 2023

Ladbrokes Tip: The John F Feehan Stakes is the best guide to the Underwood Stakes results

The Underwood Stakes is a weight-for-age race for staying types held at Caulfield Racecourse* in late September or early October each Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. Held over 1800m under weight-for-age conditions the classic is open to horses aged three and over and is currently worth $750,000 in stakes.

The 2022 Underwood Stakes was won by the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Alligator Blood. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

*In 2021 and 2022 the Underwood Stakes ran at Ladbrokes Park Hillside, Sandown.

In 2023 the Underwood Stakes Day card returned to Caulfield Racecourse having run at Sandown the past two years with prize money reduced from $1 million to $750,000.

First run in 1924 the opening two editions of the Underwood were both won by Whittier (1924 & 1925).

Other notable Underwood Stakes winners over the years include Phar Lap (1931), triple champion Ajax (1938, 1939, 1940), Rain Lover (1969), Bonecrusher (1986), Jeune (1994), Octagonal (1996), Northerly (2001 & 2002), So You Think (2010), It’s A Dundeel (2013), and Zaaki.

It has been run as a Group 1 major since 1979 and often attracts graduates of the Memsie Stakes.

The Underwood Stakes is the feature race at the meeting in Melbourne with racing in Sydney on the same day dominated by the Golden Rose Stakes at Rosehill Gardens.

The other key races on the Underwood Stakes Day card are the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) and the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m).

In 2020 the Underwood Stakes ran on a Saturday and was won by odds-on favourite Russian Camelot who went on to frank the form with a next-up Caulfield Stakes second and third in that year’s Cox Plate trifecta.

In 2023 Alligator Blood successfully defended his title to become the 13th multiple Underwood Stakes winner in history and the first to go back-to-back since Northerly (2001-02).

This season the Underwood Stakes 2023 ran on Saturday September 23rd, 2023 at Caulfield Racecourse and saw the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained favourite Alligator Blood ($3.60F) go back-to-back with a successful title defence on a quick back-up. 

2023 Underwood Stakes Results

The official Underwood Stakes 2023 results and finishing order will be provided below once the race is run and won on Saturday September 23rd, 2023 .

2023 Underwood Stakes winner Alligator Blood successfully defended his title on way to the $5 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

• 1st: #2 Alligator Blood
• 2nd: #5 Tuvalu
• 3rd: #15 Duais

The Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Alligator Blood ($3.60F) was huge on the short turnaround improving on a second to Mr Brightside in the Makybe Diva Stakes to come wide and late off a lovely Damien Oliver ride to salute for the punters and go back-to-back in the 2023 Underwood Stakes results.

2023 Underwood Stakes Odds

The spring’s best Underwood Stakes 2023 betting odds and links to our Group 1 Melbourne racing markets will be provided below once open so stay tuned for access to the top weekend odds and offers.

Underwood Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday September 23rd, 2023
• Track: Caulfield Racecourse
• Distance: 1800m
• Conditions: Weight-for-age
• Status: Group 1
• Prize Money: $750,000
• First Run: 1924

Underwood Stakes Betting

Underwood Stakes betting markets really heat up the week of the race and are led by horses that ran top four in their final lead-up. Only two Underwood Stakes winner has finished worse than fourth in their previous run since 1997, the latest being Black Heart Bart (2019).

Plenty have won their lead-up race including Kiwi raider Ocean Park who took out the Group 1 Challenge Stakes back home and Bonneval (2017) who backed-up from a win in the Group 2 Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m) – now run as the Feehan Stakes and most recently Zaaki who won the Tramway Stakes first-up ahead of his win as the $1.18 favourite in the Underwood Stakes in 2021.

The Memsie Stakes meanwhile has produced a number or recent Underwood Stakes winners with the last to do the double being So You Think (2010). Black Heart Bart (2016) was the first favourite Underwood Stakes betting to salute for the punters since So You Think six years earlier. He also won again three years later in 2019 at $101!

Russian Camelot ($1.55 in 2020) followed by Zaaki ($1.18 in 2021) and then Alligator Blood ($3.60 in 2023) for his second victory in the event are the latest Underwood Stakes favourites to win.

Underwood Stakes Tips

Underwood Stakes betting tips are usually headed by the top four-year-olds in the race as every Underwood winner from 2008 – 2013 won as a 4YO before Foreteller broke the streak winning as an eight-year-old in 2014.

Since then the older horses have prevailed with Mourinho (8yo in 2015) and Black Heart Bart (6yo in 2016), but Bonneval (4YO in 2017) returned the younger gallopers to winning form in 2017. The 2018 Underwood Stakes winner was European expat Homesman who saluted as a five-year-old.

Black Heart Bart won his second Underwood Stakes as a veteran nine-year-old in 2019, while the four-year-olds were back in winning form in 2020 with Russian Camelot.

In 2021 European expat Zaaki won the Underwood Stakes as a lightly-raced seven-year-old.

Alligator Blood then went back-to-back in 2022 and 2023 as a six and then seven-year-old respectively.

Underwood Stakes tipping also favours horses drawn in a single digit barrier with only one of the winners from 2008- 2023 saluting from a wide barrier.

Any Kiwi-trained horses could also feature prominently in the Underwood tips as New Zealand horses have a strong record in the race with four wins since 2011 with Lion Tamer (2011), Ocean Park (2012), It’s A Dundeel (2013), and the mare Bonneval (2017). In 2021 the Kiwi-trained mare Probabeel was brave running second to the standout champion Zaaki.

2023 Underwood Stakes Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ insider Underwood Stakes 2023 betting tips and Melbourne racing selections will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned for the horses to back and sack in the Caulfield Cup lead-up race.

• To Win: #5 Tuvalu ($8.50 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Taking on the Gator with Tuvalu at nice value here in the Underwood Stakes fit third-up and ready to fire. Lindsey Smith’s Kermadec gelding was runner-up to Alligator Blood in the Group 1 Champions Mile (1600m) a half-length beaten at headquarters last Melbourne Cup Carnival and can turn the tables here. Fresh he was two lengths fourth behind the form horse of the season so far, Mr Brightside, in the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) before a third to Pinstriped in the Group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) at The Valley. He will relish the 1800m now with previous winning form at the distance and his runs spaced well. Wide draw but time to overcome and looks overs.

Underwood Stakes Field

The Underwood Stakes race field traditionally attracts 10 or more starters including a full 16 in 2004 when Elvstroem saluted as a four-year-old, but in 2017 ran under that with just eight starters. The following spring the 2018 Underwood Stakes field also drew a small line-up of only nine hopefuls, before Zaaki scared off the bulk of the rivals with just five horses in the 2021 Underwood Stakes field.

There was another small six-horse Underwood Stakes field in 2022 with Zaaki returning only to run third behind Alligator Blood, while in 2023 Alligator Blood defended his title against a near capacity field of 14 rivals.

The field for the Underwood Stakes race is released on the Wednesday before the race runs as the marquee of that weekend’s Melbourne race meeting and features the season’s top weight-for-age hopes, many heading towards the Ladbrokes Cox Plate in a month’s time at Moonee Valley.

Black Heart Bart (2016) became the first favourite in Underwood Stakes betting to salute since 2010. Photo Credit: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Horses traditionally come into the Underwood Stakes field via an earlier Melbourne lead-up run in a race like the Group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) or the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) run at Moonee Valley and Flemington respectively.

Alligator Blood (2nd in 2022 and 2023) was the last Makybe Diva Stakes graduate to win the Underwood Stakes.

2023 Underwood Stakes Field

The official Underwood Stakes 2023 Final Field & Barriers will be announced by Racing Victoria on the Wednesday of race week and will be provided in full below so stay tuned to see what Caulfield Cup hopefuls line-up in the weight-for-age Group 1.

The Underwood Stakes 2023 final field features a capacity line-up of potential Cox Plate-bound gallopers led in betting by the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Alligator Blood coming off a second to Mr Brightside in the Group 1 Makybe Diva last weekend.

2023 Underwood Stakes Nominations

The Underwood Stakes 2023 nominations are taken on the Monday of race week and usually feature staying types eyeing runs in upcoming classic spring races like the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate.

The Underwood Stakes 2023 nominations have attracted a bumper 26 potential Cox Plate hopefuls including last year’s Melbourne Cup champion Gold Trip, the resuming Anthony & Sam Freedmam-trained The Q22 winner Without A Fight, and last weekend’s Makybe Diva Stakes runner-up Alligator Blood on the potential quick back-up.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Underwood Stakes Form Guide

The Underwood Stakes form guide is a must view reference for punters with all the info from saddlecloth and barrier numbers to the horse’s lead-up form listed.

Favourites in Underwood Stakes betting have a pretty poor recent record with Black Heart Bart (2016), Russian Camelot (2020), Zaaki (2021) and Alligator Blood (2023) for his second the only ones to salute since So You Think (2010), so the form guide can be a great way to uncover the value in the market by looking at proven weight-for-age types with winning form up to at least a mile.

The 2021 Underwood Stakes form was franked with the winner Zaaki, scratched from the Cox Plate that year on race morning as the favourite, going on to win Flemington’s Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes that spring before returning in 2022 to win the $5 million The All-Star Mile the following autumn.

After his third in the 2022 Underwood Stakes Zaaki would continue on to successfully defend his Mackinnon Stakes (VRC Champions Stakes) title that Melbourne Cup Carnival. The 2022 Underwood Stakes form was further franked with the winner Alligator Blood also saluting at headquarters that November in the Group 1 Champions Mile (1600m).

In 2023 Alligator Blood won the Underwood Stakes and then the Group 1 Might And Power (2000m), while the form was franked by sixth place-getter Without A Fight who went on to win the Group 1 $5 million Caulfield Cup a month later.

Underwood Stakes Form Facts

• Since 2010 only four favourite in Underwood Stakes betting have saluted for the punters.
• From 2008-2023 just one Underwood Stakes winner jumped from a double-digit barrier (It’s A Dundeel, 12 of 14, in 2013).
• New Zealand-trained horses won the Underwood Stakes three times on the trot from 2011-13 and again in 2017.
• Tristarc way back in 1985 was the last Underwood Stakes winning mare before Bonneval (2017) broke the drought.

2023 Underwood Stakes Form

A link to our detailed Underwood Stakes 2023 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Underwood Stakes Results

The Underwood Stakes race results list the exact finishing order of all the starters plus any horses scratched from the original final field. You can see where your selections finished after the event runs late on the card on Underwood Stakes Day and also view the winning time and margin for any exotic bets.

Upset Underwood Stakes results have been common in the past decade including the 2015 win by Mourinho at odds of 16/1.

Notable recent Underwood Stakes winners include Black Heart Bart (2016, 2019), It’s A Dundeel (2013), So You Think (2010), Russian Camelot (2020), Zaaki (2021), and the latest two-time champion Alligator Blood (2022, 2023).

Bonneval (2017) was the last Underwood Stakes winning mare.

Russian Camelot (2020) was the last three-year-old Underwood Stakes winner.

Oliver Twist holds the current 1800m Underwood Stakes race record winning in 2000 in a time of 1 minute 47:63 seconds.

Past Underwood Stakes Winners

Recent Underwood Stakes winners and place-getters dating back to the year 2001 are detailed in the below table.