Sir Delius turned a heavyweight spring test into a staying statement, snatching back the lead after being headed to win the Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m).
Buckaroo swept past at the 300m and looked the winner, but Craig Williams lifted the Frankel entire late, edging clear with Golden Path grabbing third in a tight finish.
Officially, the favourite with horse racing bookmakers saluted by a long neck at $2.10.
Williams called the five-year-old “a weapon,” noting the win came despite an awkward draw and at his first start racing left-handed in Australia.
He said the plan was to “let him be a really good horse,” and when the chips were down, Sir Delius’ tenacity told.
Co-trainer Gai Waterhouse was emphatic in the aftermath, likening Sir Delius to her 2013 Melbourne Cup hero Fiorente and confirming a near-identical path: the Group 1 Might And Power (2000m) at Caulfield on October 11, into the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at The Valley on October 25, before the “first Tuesday in November.”
She praised the horse’s will to win after a less-than-ideal run where he was “not in a good position” before surging again when he saw the post.
The market reaction was instant.
Futures odds for the Melbourne Cup tightened dramatically, with Sir Delius promoted to the top of betting—around $6 all-in—overtaking Irish raider Al Riffa with horse betting sites.
The Underwood success also marked Waterhouse & Bott’s third win in the race in four years, following Alligator Blood’s 2022–23 double, underscoring the stable’s spring stranglehold.
2025 Group 1 Underwood Stakes Replay – Sir Delius
Horse racing news