The Showdown is a restricted $1 million race running at Caulfield Racecourse in late April at the tail-end of the Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival.
Held for the first time in 2019, the lucrative 1200m sprint is open only to two-year-old VOBIS Sires eligible horses only with no class or gender restrictions.
The set weights clash offers a nice alternative option for juveniles that may not be suited to stepping up in distance for earlier autumn races in Sydney like the Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) and the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) held the weekend prior.
The event is named in honour of former Australian champion and Victorian-based stallion Showdown who stood at Stockwell Stud between 1966 until his retirement in 1983.
The latest edition of The VOBIS Showdown ran at Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday April 23, 2022 and saw the Anthony & Sam Freedman-trained Kings Consort ($10) score a narrow upset over the beaten favourite Bello Beau.
The Showdown Race Info
- Date: Saturday April 23, 2022
- Track: Caulfield Racecourse
- Distance: 1200m
- Conditions: Set Weights – 2YOs
- Status: Special Condition (VOBIS Sires eligible horses only)
- Prize Money: $1,000,000
- First Run: 2019
2022 The Showdown Results
The complete The Showdown 2022 race results and full finishing order will be available right here once the race is run and won on Saturday April 23, 2022.
- 1st: #4 Kings Consort ($10)
- 2nd: #1 Bello Beau
- 3rd: #14 Volander
The Showdown Betting
The Showdown betting markets are led by in-form two-year-olds with a proven record over 1200m and those coming off good lead-up form over the Melbourne or Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.
Any juveniles with past form at the Caulfield track and those down in grade off a Group 1 or 2 performance – especially from earlier in the autumn in Sydney’s Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) – are favoured in The Showdown odds.
Finance Tycoon ($3.20 in 2021) was the last favourite in The Showdown betting to salute for the punters.
2022 The Showdown Odds
The season’s top The Showdown 2022 odds will be available here once markets on the $1 million race for two-year-olds are out so stay tuned.
The Showdown 2026 Results
| 4. Kings Consort (6) J: Mark Zahra 58kg 34x3 T: A & S Freedman | ||
| 1. Bello Beau (8) J: Brendon Mccoull 58kg 1115 T: Adam Trinder | ||
| 14. Volander (3) J: Ethan Brown 56kg 6 T: M M Laurie | ||
| 8. Stardom Awaayts (11) J: Damien Thornton 58kg 6 T: M J Williams | ||
| 5. Don't Change (7) J: Rhys Mcleod 58kg 5 T: Nick Ryan | ||
| 10. Over Shady (13) J: Jye Mcneil 56kg 32 T: M M Laurie | ||
| 12. Capital Express (10) J: Billy Egan 56kg 1 T: Nick Ryan | ||
| 9. Hollerlujah (12) J: Mitchell Aitken 56kg 1 T: Henry Dwyer | ||
| 3. New York Hurricane (2) J: Jason Maskiell 58kg 43 T: Liam Howley | ||
| 11. Soju Session (9) J: Craig Newitt 56kg 16 T: T Busuttin & N Young | ||
| 2. Sir Bailey (4) J: Ms Jamie Kah 58kg 3104 T: C Maher & D Eustace | ||
| 7. Promises Kept (5) J: Blaike Mcdougall 58kg 8 T: G Eurell | ||
| 6. Rue De Palais (14) J: John Allen 58kg 8 T: T & C Mcevoy | ||
| 13. Make It Happen (1) J: Michael Dee 56kg 4 T: Ben & J D Hayes |
The Showdown Field
The Showdown field is made up each season by in-form two-year-old gallopers coming via a number of different lead-up races.
Runners in The Showdown race field must be progeny of VOBIS Sires’ nominated stallions.
The Showdown has a capacity field limit of 16 starters plus four emergencies.
Many youngsters in The Showdown field may have had a run at the track and distance that February in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m).
The 2021 The Showdown winner Finance Tycoon improved on a fourth in the Blue Diamond to win the million-dollar feature.
In 2022, Kings Consort won The VOBIS Showdown first-up having last been seen running fourth in the Ballarat Magic Millions 2YO Classic the November before.
The Showdown nominations close the Monday of race week with the final field released on the Wednesday.
2022 The Showdown Field
The official The Showdown 2022 final field and barriers are released the Wednesday before the race and will be announced in full below.
| Entrant | Last 6 | Sex | Barrier | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Bello Beau
J: Brendon Mccoull
T: Adam Trinder |
1115 | G | 8 | 58kg | |
|
2. Sir Bailey
J: Ms Jamie Kah
T: C Maher & D Eustace |
3104 | C | 4 | 58kg | |
|
3. New York Hurricane
J: Jason Maskiell
T: Liam Howley |
43 | G | 2 | 58kg | |
|
4. Kings Consort
J: Mark Zahra
T: A & S Freedman |
34x3 | G | 6 | 58kg | |
|
5. Don't Change
J: Rhys Mcleod
T: Nick Ryan |
5 | G | 7 | 58kg | |
|
6. Rue De Palais
J: John Allen
T: T & C Mcevoy |
8 | G | 14 | 58kg | |
|
7. Promises Kept
J: Blaike Mcdougall
T: G Eurell |
8 | G | 5 | 58kg | |
|
8. Stardom Awaayts
J: Damien Thornton
T: M J Williams |
6 | G | 11 | 58kg | |
|
9. Hollerlujah
J: Mitchell Aitken
T: Henry Dwyer |
1 | F | 12 | 56kg | |
|
10. Over Shady
J: Jye Mcneil
T: M M Laurie |
32 | F | 13 | 56kg | |
|
11. Soju Session
J: Craig Newitt
T: T Busuttin & N Young |
16 | F | 9 | 56kg | |
|
12. Capital Express
J: Billy Egan
T: Nick Ryan |
1 | F | 10 | 56kg | |
|
13. Make It Happen
J: Michael Dee
T: Ben & J D Hayes |
4 | F | 1 | 56kg | |
|
14. Volander
J: Ethan Brown
T: M M Laurie |
6 | F | 3 | 56kg |
2022 The Showdown Nominations
The early The Showdown 2022 nominations are released on the Monday ahead of the event and will be published below once announced.
| Last 10 | Horse | Sex | Age | Trainer | Ballot | Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1115 | BELLO BEAU | G | 2 | Adam Trinder | 1 | 58kg | 72 | |
| 2 | 1 | HOLLERLUJAH | F | 2 | Henry Dwyer | 2 | 56kg | 70 | |
| 3 | 11 | CROSSWINDS | C | 2 | Anthony & Sam Freedman | 3 | 58kg | 74 | |
| 4 | 32 | OVER SHADY | F | 2 | Matt Laurie | 4 | 56kg | 65 | |
| 5 | 3104 | SIR BAILEY | C | 2 | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | 5 | 58kg | 68 | |
| 6 | 43 | NEW YORK HURRICANE | G | 2 | Liam Howley | 6 | 58kg | 63 | |
| 7 | 1 | CAPITAL EXPRESS | F | 2 | Nick Ryan | 7= | 56kg | 63 | |
| 8 | 16 | SOJU SESSION | F | 2 | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | 7= | 56kg | 63 | |
| 9 | 34×3 | KINGS CONSORT | G | 2 | Anthony & Sam Freedman | 9 | 58kg | 62 | |
| 10 | 5 | DON’T CHANGE | G | 2 | Nick Ryan | 10 | 58kg | 61 | |
| 11 | 4 | MAKE IT HAPPEN | F | 2 | Ben & JD Hayes | 11 | 56kg | 61 | |
| 12 | 8 | BODY BOB | C | 2 | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | 12= | 58kg | ||
| 13 | 0 | FIGHTING EDGE | C | 2 | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | 12= | 58kg | ||
| 14 | FREAKY FRIDAY | C | 2 | Ben & JD Hayes | 12= | 58kg | |||
| 15 | 8 | PROMISES KEPT | G | 2 | Greg Eurell | 12= | 58kg | ||
| 16 | 8 | RUE DE PALAIS | G | 2 | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | 12= | 58kg | ||
| 17 | 6 | STARDOM AWAAYTS | G | 2 | Matthew Williams | 12= | 58kg | ||
| 18 | LAYIN’ FOUR | F | 2 | Anthony & Sam Freedman | 12= | 56kg | |||
| 19 | 5x | LITTLE KAZ | F | 2 | Ben & JD Hayes | 12= | 56kg | ||
| 20 | 6x | VOLANDER | F | 2 | Matt Laurie | 12= | 56kg |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
The Showdown Form Guide
The Showdown form guide provides all the crucial field information like the jockeys, trainers, barriers and lead-up runs of the hopefuls.
Looking on the VOBIS Showdown form for runners out of other VOBIS-restricted races and the higher-rated runners in the event is key.
The form out of the 2020 The Showdown was franked with the winner Khoekhoe going on to run well in a number of tougher grade races in Melbourne including a second in that spring’s Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase (2040m) and a credible fifth in the following year’s Group 1 ATC Derby (2400m) in Sydney.
2022 The Showdown Form Guide
A link to our comprehensive The Showdown 2022 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.
The Showdown Tips
The Showdown tips favour local Melbourne-trained gallopers, Black-Type performers and the strong 1200m types.
Backing horses at single-figures in betting and those that ran in the money in their final lead-up runs are good The Showdown betting tips.
2022 The Showdown Tips
Our Ladbrokes’ insider The Showdown 2022 betting tips on the young horses to back and sack in the lucrative Caulfield six-furlong race will be detailed below the week of the race so bookmark this page.
- To Win: #1 Bello Beau ($2.50 at time of publish)
The rails-drawn favourite travelled interstate off a three-straight winning streak back home in the Apple Isle, Tassie’s top two-year-old unable to frank that form on the mainland when failing to salute for the punters last start at Moonee Valley. Never in clear running there when boxed up on the fence, it was a forgivable fifth and he’ll be keen to atone at Caulfield second-up with plenty giving him another shot including us.
The Showdown Results
The Showdown results have been dominated by single-figure fancies to date with Khoekhoe ($14 in 2020) the only winner since the race’s inauguration in 2019 to start at double-figures in betting.
The Showdown Winners
| Year | Winner | Second | Third | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Kings Consort | Bello Beau | Volander | 1:10.80 |
| 2021 | Finance Tycoon | Literary Magnate | Scissor Step | 1:08.91 |
| 2020 | Khoekhoe | River Night | Galactic Fury | 1:10.51 |
| 2019 | Prince Of Sussex | Hightail | Mishe Mokwa | 1:10.65 |
How do I bet on the 2022 Showdown?
Bet online or via the latest iOS/Android apps with Ladbrokes.
The first step is to create an account at ladbrokes.com.au. The process is quick and easy!
Once you've created your account you can make a deposit via credit card, or any other of our secure payment methods.
Next up, head to the racing page and find the race and runner that's right for you.
When is the 2022 Showdown?
The 2022 Showdown will run on Saturday 23rd April, and will be held at Melbourne's Caulfield Racecourse. The scheduled jump time for the Showdown is 3:20pm.