High Class G1 Underwood Field in NZB Spring WFA Championships
21 September 2016
New Zealand Bloodstock’s Spring Weight-For-Age Championship at Caulfield Racecourse continues on Saturday with the running of the third leg, the A$500,000 Group 1 Hyland Race Colours Underwood Stakes (1800m).
The race has attracted a small but elite field, with seven Group 1 winners among its 11 runners.
Six of those horses have won Group 1 races in the last 12 months, with Karaka graduate Prince of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire) topping the field courtesy of his win in last November’s Melbourne Cup.
He is joined by fellow Group 1-winning NZB graduates Tarzino (NZ) (Tavistock) who claimed the Victoria Derby and Rosehill Guineas, Tavago (NZ) (Tavistock) winner of the Australian Derby, and Lucia Valentina (NZ) (Savabeel) who took out the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Other recent Group 1 winners to feature are Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars), this year’s Goodwood Handicap and NZB Memsie Stakes winner, and Howard Be Thy Name (Redoute’s Choice) who won the South Australian Derby.
The field’s other Group 1 winner, Our Ivanhowe (Soldier Hollow), won the Grosser Preis von Baden in Germany and also placed in the Caulfield Cup.
The current leaders of the New Zealand Bloodstock Spring WFA Championship are Miss Rose De Lago (Encosta De Lago) and Black Heart Bart with 10 points each from their wins in the PB Lawrence Stakes and Memsie Stakes respectively.
Black Heart Bart has the chance to take an outright lead on Saturday, with a further 10 points on offer for the winner of the Group 1 Underwood Stakes with points awarded back to eighth placing.
| # | Horse | Draw | Comments | Trainer | Jockey |
| 1 | Prince Of Penzance | 8 | A brilliant and unforgettable winner of last year's Melbourne Cup, Prince Of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire) caught the eye with a fast-finishing sixth in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes two weeks ago. | Darren Weir | John Allen |
| 2 | Black Heart Bart | 7 | The remarkably consistent former Western Australian galloper Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars) has run first or second in all of his last eight starts including the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap, All Aged Stakes, Goodwood Handicap, Stradbroke Handicap, NZB Memsie Stakes and Makybe Diva Stakes. An impressive winner of the Memsie, he was second in the Makybe Diva Stakes two weeks ago. | Darren Weir | Brad Rawiller |
| 3 | Our Ivanhowe | 3 | Formerly an elite performer in Germany, Our Ivanhowe (Soldier Hollow) has placed in a Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) at this track. He was fifth in the Makybe Diva Stakes. | Lee & Anthony Freedman | Kerrin McEvoy |
| 4 | The Cleaner | 11 | Popular front-runner The Cleaner (Savoire Vivre), formerly based in Tasmania, has racked up 19 wins and more than A$1.3 million in his 56-start career. | Peter Gelagotis | Steven Arnold |
| 5 | Jacquinot Bay | 4 | Nine-year-old Galileo gelding Jacquinot Bay is in outstanding form, running third in last month's Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes and a close last-start fourth in the Makybe Diva Stakes. | David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | Damian Lane |
| 6 | Awesome Rock | 2 | Fastnet Rock five-year-old Awesome Rock comes into this race on the back of the biggest win of his career, the Group 2 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes at Moonee Valley on September 3. He was first past the post in last season's Group 1 Australian Cup but was relegated to second on protest. | Leon & Troy Corstens | Stephen Baster |
| 7 | He Or She | 1 | He Or She (Kendel Star) finished within six lengths of the winner when seventh first-up in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes, then improved to run a close third in the Makybe Diva Stakes. | David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | Craig Williams |
| 8 | Tarzino | 10 | A dual Group One winner of the Victoria Derby and Rosehill Guineas, Tarzino (NZ) (Tavistock) has had two starts back in this preparation and will be suited by the extra distance. Blinkers have been removed. | Mick Price | Craig Newitt |
| 9 | Tavago | 9 | The winner of last season's Australian Derby from trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young's former Cambridge base, Tavago (NZ) (Tavistock) was unplaced first-up in the Dato Tan Chin Nam but will appreciate the additional distance. | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Nicholas Hall |
| 10 | Howard Be Thy Name | 5 | Howard Be Thy Name (Redoute's Choice) won four races in a row last season including the Group 1 South Australian Derby. He also ran fourth in the Group 1 Queensland Derby. | Darren Weir | Mark Zahra |
| 11 | Lucia Valentina | 6 | Carrying the colours of prominent Kiwi owner Lib Petagna, Lucia Valentina (NZ) (Savabeel) has picked up Group 1 victories in the Vinery Stud Stakes, Turnbull Stakes and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. She ran fourth first-up behind Winx in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes. | Kris Lees | Damien Oliver |