UNDERWOOD STAKES 2020 PREVIEW
CAULFIELD RACE 7 – 17:05 AEST
3YO+ OPEN
1800m
$750,000
GOOD 4
TRUE entire
| # | Form | Horse | Trainer | Jockey (barrier) | Weight (kg) | Current Price |
| 1 | x00x0 | GAILO CHOP | M WILLIAMS | D YENDALL (5) | 59.0 | $81 |
| 2 | 085x1 | HUMIDOR | C WALLER | C WILLIAMS (3) | 59.0 | $14 |
| 3 | 70x3x | TRAP FOR FOOLS | L SMITH | D BATES (6) | 59.0 | $81 |
| 4 | x58x0 | LEVENDI | P GELAGOTIS | J MASKIELL (4) | 59.0 | $101 |
| 5 | 6x453 | SO SI BON | T DABERNIG & B HAYES | D W STACKHOUSE (8) | 59.0 | $19 |
| 6 | 902x2 | MR QUICKIE | P STOKES | D LANE (10) | 59.0 | $7.50 |
| 7 | 572x1 | THE CHOSEN ONE | M B & A FORSMAN | M J DEE (2) | 59.0 | $12 |
| 8 | 314x3 | HARBOUR VIEWS | M WILLIAMS | J ALLEN (7) | 59.0 | $12 |
| 9 | 05x52 | ARCADIA QUEEN | G & A WILLIAMS | W PIKE (1) | 57.0 | $4.60 |
| 10 | 411x2 | RUSSIAN CAMELOT | D O'BRIEN | D OLIVER (9) | 56.5 | $1.95 |
OVERVIEW
A small, but quality field assembles for this year’s Underwood Stakes, which resulted in a boilover last year with Black Heart Bart scoring at $150-1. It could be a very different story this year however, with Russian Camelot dominating the betting market early after an impressive first up display at an unsuitable distance. Arcadia Queen looks to be the main danger but there are a number of chances here.
SPEED MAP
Pace looks to be genuine here, with Trap for Fools the likely leader from gate 6. Gailo Chop won’t be far away, with Harbour Views and Levendi likely to be prominent in the early stages also. Arcadia Queen draws gate 1 and can use that to her advantage. Russian Camelot draws wide but surely can’t find himself four wide again in such a small field?
KEY RUNNERS
- HUMIDOR ($14)
Humidor wound back the clock last start to score a surprise win over Surprise Baby at Moonee Valley. He was midfield but stormed home to snatch victory at 1600m, which is short of his best distance. He should be more suited by the 1800m and if that performance wasn’t a huge spike, he’s more than capable of winning again.
- ARCADIA QUEEN ($4.60)
WA runner who is still looking for that elusive Group 1 win outside of WA. She’s only had eleven career starts for six career wins, including a Group 1 Kingston Town win, so that should give you an indication of the quality of mare she is. She can use the inside gate to her advantage here and if the favourite strikes any trouble, she might find victory here.
- RUSSIAN CAMELOT ($1.95)
The progress in his past few runs has been well documented, starting with his seventh length victory at Pakenham before going to South Australia and scoring a dominant two length win in the Group 1 SA Derby. His first up run was enormous too, sitting four wide without cover for most of the race over a distance short of his best. He still nearly won. He should enjoy the step up to 1800m and he looks incredibly hard to beat here once again.
BLUEY’S PICK
- RUSSIAN CAMELOT ($1.95)
Can’t go against the favourite here. Despite the short odds, he has looked absolutely unstoppable in his past few runs. I’m expecting a little bit of natural improvement second up and at a more suitable distance he should be able to take care of this field which includes a few horses past their best.
