Result: Birdman won the 2026 Underwood Stakes for Chris Waller and Ben Melham, from Cosmic Crusader and Attrition.
The Underwood Stakes is a $1 million Group 1 weight-for-age race over 1800m at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne. The 2026 edition was run on Saturday 19 September 2026, and it's one of the first big tests of the Melbourne Spring Carnival — a key lead-up to the Turnbull Stakes, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate.
Underwood Stakes 2026: race details
Date: Saturday 19 September 2026
Track: Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne
Distance: 1800m
Grade: Group 1
Conditions: Weight-for-age, 3YOs and upwards
Prizemoney: $1,000,000
2025 winner: Sir Delius
Underwood Stakes 2026 nominations
The 2026 Underwood Stakes drew 15 nominations, and 10 of them come from two stables: Chris Waller has six and Ciaron Maher has four. Last year's winner Sir Delius is not among the 15.
Aeliana (NZ) — mare, 5 · Chris Waller · rated 118
Asterix (NZ) — gelding, 8 · Chris Waller · rated 108
Attrition — horse, 7 · Mitchell Freedman · rated 108
Birdman (IRE) — gelding, 6 · Chris Waller · rated 113
Buckaroo (GB) — gelding, 8 · Chris Waller · rated 115
Cosmic Crusader (NZ) — gelding, 6 · Andrea Leek · rated 113
Evaporate (NZ) — gelding, 5 · Ben, Will & JD Hayes · rated 111
Kingswood (GB) — horse, 7 · Gavin Bedggood · rated 111
Lindermann — gelding, 7 · Chris Waller · rated 114
Middle Earth (GB) — gelding, 7 · Ciaron Maher · rated 110
Piggyback — mare, 6 · Ciaron Maher · rated 102
Pinstriped — gelding, 8 · Enver Jusufovic · rated 106
Royal Supremacy (IRE) — gelding, 6 · Ciaron Maher · rated 108
Saint George (GB) — gelding, 7 · Ciaron Maher · rated 108
Soulcombe (GB) — gelding, 8 · Chris Waller · rated 103
Several nominees have other options on the day. Aeliana and Lindermann are also entered in the $1 million Seven Stakes at Randwick; Kingswood, Middle Earth, Royal Supremacy, Attrition, Asterix and Saint George are also in the Naturalism Stakes (2000m) on the Caulfield card; and Evaporate is also in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes. Waller says barriers and race shape will decide how many of his six run.
Underwood Stakes 2026: the main contenders
Cosmic Crusader
Andrea Leek's Perth Group 1 winner ran 3rd in the Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield after drawing wide and getting checked around the 600m, then making strong late ground. The rise to 1800m is expected to suit.
Birdman
Chris Waller's import ran 6th in the Memsie Stakes over a trip considered too short. He's second-up and stepping to 1800m, which Waller expects to suit.
Lindermann
Won the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on 5 September, leading throughout to beat Ceolwulf by 1¾ lengths. He was runner-up to Aeliana in the Ranvet Stakes in autumn.
Buckaroo
The 2024 Underwood winner and 2025 runner-up ran 5th in the Memsie Stakes, beaten about four lengths from barrier 10. After winning the Underwood in 2024 he ran 2nd in both the Turnbull Stakes and the Caulfield Cup.
Aeliana
The highest-rated nominee (118) won the Ranvet Stakes and Tancred Stakes in autumn. She ran 11th in the Winx Stakes (1400m) at Randwick, a trip too short, and 1800m is expected to be a far better test.
What is the Underwood Stakes?
The Underwood Stakes is a Group 1 weight-for-age race over 1800m at Caulfield, run each September by the Melbourne Racing Club. First run in 1924, it's the first weight-for-age race beyond a mile in the Melbourne or Sydney spring, and the winner earns a ballot exemption for the Caulfield Cup.
Grade: Group 1 (since 1979)
Host club: Melbourne Racing Club
Distance: 1800m (since 1994)
Surface: Turf, left-handed
First run: 1924
Most wins: Ajax, three (1938, 1939, 1940)
How much prizemoney is the Underwood Stakes worth?
The Underwood Stakes is worth $1,000,000, with $600,000 to the winner. Prizemoney was lifted to $1 million in 2025.
1st: $600,000
2nd: $180,000
3rd: $90,000
4th: $45,000
5th: $25,000
6th–8th: $20,000 each
There's also a $1 million Cox Plate bonus: any horse that has won or wins the Underwood Stakes is eligible if it goes on to win the Cox Plate.
What are the Underwood Stakes weights?
As a weight-for-age race, weights are set by age and sex rather than rating:
Colts, geldings and entires 5yo+: 59kg
Colts, geldings and entires 4yo: 58.5kg
Mares 5yo+: 57kg
Mares 4yo: 56.5kg
Why the Underwood Stakes matters for the Cox Plate and Caulfield Cup
The Underwood Stakes is where the best middle-distance horses show whether they're ready for the big spring prizes. Fourteen horses have won the Underwood and the Cox Plate in the same spring, and seven have won the Underwood–Caulfield Cup double, including Northerly.
Cox Plate double: 14 horses, including Ocean Park in 2012
Caulfield Cup double: 7 horses, including Northerly
Turnbull Stakes double: Sir Delius in 2025
Next start: the usual next step is the Caulfield Stakes, now the Might And Power (2000m)
Horses that run well in the Underwood are worth adding to your blackbook for the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate.
Key lead-up races to the Underwood Stakes
The main lead-ups are the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield and the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington. Sydney horses often come through the Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) or Winx Stakes (1400m) at Randwick.
Underwood Stakes trends and stats
Favourites have a solid record — six have won since 2010 — but upsets happen, including Black Heart Bart at $101 in 2019. Winners rarely come from a double-digit barrier, and mares have a poor record.
Favourites
Six favourites have won since 2010: So You Think (2010), Black Heart Bart (2016), Russian Camelot (2020), Zaaki (2021), Alligator Blood (2023) and Sir Delius (2025).
Biggest upsets: Black Heart Bart $101 (2019) and Rubiscent $41 (2007).
Barriers
Barrier 6 has produced the most winners since 1983, with six.
Only three winners came from a double-digit barrier between 2008 and 2025: It's A Dundeel (12, 2013), Buckaroo (10, 2024) and Sir Delius (10, 2025).
Age and sex
Four-year-olds won six in a row from 2008 to 2013; since then only Bonneval (2017) and Russian Camelot (2020) have won at that age.
Black Heart Bart, at nine, is the oldest winner since 1983.
Mares have struggled: Tristarc won in 1985, and Bonneval ended a 32-year drought in 2017.
Preparation
After the race moved to 1800m in 1994, the first 16 winners all had at least two lead-up runs.
More recently, horses have won second-up after resuming in races like the Memsie Stakes.
Since 1997, only two winners had finished worse than 4th at their previous start, the latest being Black Heart Bart (2019).
New Zealand stables won three in a row (2011–13) and again with Bonneval in 2017.
Underwood Stakes past winners
Sir Delius won the 2025 Underwood Stakes for Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, ridden by Craig Williams, as the $2.10 favourite. Buckaroo won in 2024, and Alligator Blood won back-to-back in 2022 and 2023.
2025: Sir Delius — Craig Williams, Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, $2.10F, 1:49.12
2024: Buckaroo — Joao Moreira, Chris Waller, $9.00, 1:49.00
2023: Alligator Blood — Damien Oliver, Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, $3.60F, 1:48.53
2022: Alligator Blood — Tim Clark, Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, $8.00, 1:48.98
2021: Zaaki — Craig Williams, Annabel Neasham, $1.18F, 1:49.20
2020: Russian Camelot — Damien Oliver, Danny O'Brien, $1.55F, 1:50.85
2019: Black Heart Bart — Brad Rawiller, Lindsey Smith, $101
2018: Homesman — Ben Melham, Liam Howley, $5.00
2017: Bonneval — Hugh Bowman, Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman, $4.40
2016: Black Heart Bart — Brad Rawiller, Darren Weir, $2.20F
2015: Mourinho — Vlad Duric, Peter Gelagotis, $18
2014: Foreteller — Glen Boss, Chris Waller, $6.50
2013: It's A Dundeel — James McDonald, Murray Baker, $7.50
2012: Ocean Park — Glen Boss, Gary Hennessy, $8.00
2011: Lion Tamer — Michael Rodd, Murray Baker, $16
2010: So You Think — Steven Arnold, Bart Cummings, $1.75F
2009: Heart Of Dreams — Craig Newitt, Mick Price, $10
2008: Weekend Hussler — Brad Rawiller, Ross McDonald, $1.50F
2007: Rubiscent — Danny Nikolic, Mick Price, $41
2006: El Segundo — Darren Gauci, Colin Little, $3.00F
Most successful jockeys and trainers in the Underwood Stakes
Since 1983, Danny Nikolic is the most successful Underwood Stakes jockey with four wins, while Bart Cummings, Murray Baker and Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott share the trainer lead with three each.
Jockeys (since 1983)
Danny Nikolic — 4 (1997, 2003, 2005, 2007)
Harry White — 3 (1983, 1984, 1987)
Damien Oliver — 3 (2001, 2020, 2023)
Brad Rawiller — 3 (2008, 2016, 2019)
Craig Williams — 2 (2021, 2025)
Trainers (since 1983)
Bart Cummings — 3 (1983, 1984, 2010)
Murray Baker — 3 (2011, 2013, 2017)
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott — 3 (2022, 2023, 2025)
Chris Waller — 2 (2014, 2024)
Mick Price — 2 (2007, 2009)
History of the Underwood Stakes
The Underwood Stakes was first run in 1924, when Whittier won the first of two straight editions. Named after Williamstown Racing Club chairman H.A. Underwood, it moved to Caulfield in 1948, became a Group 1 in 1979 and has been run over 1800m since 1994.
Originally known as the Williamstown Stakes.
Run at Williamstown until 1948 and at Caulfield since, apart from Sandown in 2021 and 2022.
Champions on the honour roll include Phar Lap (1931), Ajax (1938–40), Tobin Bronze, Rain Lover, Bonecrusher (1986), Octagonal (1996), Tie The Knot (1998), Northerly (2001–02), So You Think (2010) and It's A Dundeel (2013).
Memorable Underwood Stakes
2025: Sir Delius off the canvas
Sir Delius ($2.10 favourite, barrier 10) sat fourth-to-fifth while Smokin' Romans led. Buckaroo, chasing back-to-back wins, was 8th at the 800m, looped the field and hit the front at the 200m. Sir Delius looked beaten, rallied and got up in the shadows of the post to win by less than half a length, with Golden Path ($21) 3rd and Moira 4th. It was his first Group 1. He then won the Turnbull Stakes and became Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup favourite before pre-race vet scans ruled him out, and he returned to win the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in autumn 2026.
2022 and 2023: Alligator Blood goes back-to-back
Two weeks after being pipped by I'm Thunderstruck in the Makybe Diva, Alligator Blood turned the tables at Sandown in 2022 under Tim Clark, beating Mo'unga and 2021 winner Zaaki. In 2023, beaten by Mr Brightside in the Makybe Diva, he backed up for the first time in his career and won again under Damien Oliver, who was standing in for the injured Clark in his final weeks before retirement.
2019: Black Heart Bart at $101
The nine-year-old won at $101 for Lindsey Smith and Brad Rawiller, three years after winning it as a $2.20 favourite.
What else is on Underwood Stakes day?
Underwood Stakes day at Caulfield is headlined by two Group 1s — the Underwood Stakes and the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) — along with the Naturalism Stakes (2000m), a stepping stone to the Caulfield Cup, and the Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m).
How to watch the Underwood Stakes
GET TO THE TRACK! Tickets are available through the Melbourne Racing Club. But if you can't, here's where to watch:
Free-to-air: Channel 7 (coverage can move between 7, 72 and 74) and the 7plus app
Racing.com: Channel 78, plus the Racing.com website and app
Pay TV: Sky Racing 1, Sky Racing 2 or Sky Thoroughbred Central
Streaming: Kayo
Underwood Stakes FAQs
When is the Underwood Stakes 2026?
Saturday 19 September 2026 at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne.
What distance is the Underwood Stakes?
1800m.
How much is the Underwood Stakes worth?
$1,000,000, with $600,000 to the winner.
Who won the Underwood Stakes in 2025?
Sir Delius, trained by Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott and ridden by Craig Williams, at $2.10. Buckaroo ran 2nd and Golden Path 3rd.
Is the Underwood Stakes a handicap?
No. It's a weight-for-age race for three-year-olds and upwards.
Which horse has won the Underwood Stakes the most?
Ajax, with three straight wins from 1938 to 1940.
Has any horse won the Underwood Stakes back-to-back?
Yes — Whittier (1924–25), Ajax (1938–40), Northerly (2001–02) and Alligator Blood (2022–23).
Which jockey has won the Underwood Stakes the most?
Since 1983, Danny Nikolic, with four wins.
Do favourites win the Underwood Stakes?
Often — six favourites have won since 2010 — but Black Heart Bart won at $101 in 2019.
Is the Underwood Stakes a good guide to the Cox Plate?
Yes. Fourteen horses have won both in the same spring, and there's a $1 million bonus for an Underwood winner who also wins the Cox Plate.