Top 5 Underwood Stakes Winners

The Underwood Stakes (1800m) is one of the key Group 1 races early on in the Melbourne spring and has been won by some champion gallopers over the years. See who made our list of top 5 Underwood Stakes winners since 2000.

In modern times, the feature race has been taken out by some outstanding gallopers.

1. SO YOU THINK (2010 )

The last true champion for late trainer, Bart Cummings, So You Think exhilarated with his dominance in the spring of 2010. After bursting on the scene by capturing the Cox Plate (2040m) in 2009, So You Think returned with wins in the Memsie Stakes (1400m) and then the Underwood before going back to back in the Cox Plate. He could easily have won a third Cox Plate if he wasn’t sold to overseas interests, heading to the Aiden O’Brien stables in Ireland, defeating some of the best on the world stage by winning a further five Group 1 races, taking his tally to 10 overall.

2. NORTHERLY (2001 & 2002)

The fighting tiger’ is one of the most popular gallopers in Australia since the year 2000 and ended the reign of the Kiwi champion, Sunline, in a thrilling Cox Plate in 2001 before going on to make it two in a row in 2002, backing up a week after winning the Caulfield Cup (2400m) with 58kg. He claimed the Underwood Stakes in both of those years.

3. WEEKEND HUSSLER (2008)

The Ross McDonald-trained galloper had an amazing time of it in 2007 and 2008, winning race after race on his way to becoming the Australian Horse of the Year. He equalled Kingston Town’s record for most Group 1 wins in a single season and returned at four to take out the Memsie Stakes (1400m) Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) and the Underwood Stakes (1800m) before injury cut him down.

4. IT’S A DUNDEEL (2013)

It’s A Dundeel won a stirring edition of the Underwood Stakes in 2013, knocking over the previously unbeaten Atlantic Jewel, who was a champion mare in her own right. The Kiwi galloper headed over from the land of the long white cloud in the spring of 2012, capturing the Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) before returning the next autumn and claiming the Triple Crown for the three-year-olds in Sydney. His last major race win came in the 2014 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

5. EL SEGUNDO (2006)

El Segundo announced himself as a serious horse with a win in the Caulfield Stakes (2000m) in 2005 before missing out in the Caulfield Cup (2400m) that year. He won the Underwood in 2006 and missed out in agonising fashion in the Cox Plate behind Fields Of Omagh that year before returning in 2007, making amends by taking out the weight-for-age championship. He retired with 12 wins from 35 starts with six of those wins coming at the highest level.

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