A small but select field will go around in the Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Sandown Hillside on Saturday, where boom horse Zaaki is all the rage. The rail is true, and generally the track plays quite fair.
Down below is a speed map, runner preview and $100 betting strategy for the 2021 Underwood Stakes.
2021 Underwood Stakes Speed Map
Good, long run to the first turn. You’d think Williams will make sure bad luck isn’t an option with Zaaki. He leads. Probabeel has speed in the legs so she sits second. Fifty Stars can hold a spot from the fence. Superstorm and The Chosen One will be the last two in the run.
2021 Underwood Stakes Runner Preview
1. Fifty Stars: On paper, he has returned poorly. Not a first up horse, so can forgive the Memsie run, then given the race shape. He had none in the Makybe Diva. He has eyes on the Mackinnon you would assume and I don’t think he has the change up speed to be a winning threat.
Odds: $31.00
2. Zaaki: Boom horse of Australian racing that has been winning with ridiculous ease since arriving from France. His Tramway win was something else. The question is, what has he beaten? As a whole, he has beaten nothing, but it’s the manner in which he has won that has stood out and all things being equal, he wins again.
Odds: $1.30
3. The Chosen One: Continued a good fresh record with an encouraging third in the Feehan, just missing out on picking up Superstorm. I doubt he can turn the tables on that horse here, but he’s going well and is on track for another attempt at the Caulfield Cup.
Odds: $20.00
4. Superstorm: I think he’s going really well. Earned his Cox Plate berth via the Feehan when a rail hugging steer from Olly got him home. With a confirmed spot in the race, does he need to be trained to the minute to win this? I’d say no, and even if he was, he’s not beating Zaaki.
Odds: $11.00
5. Probabeel: I find her a fascinating runner. I think the Rupert Clarke run on Saturday confirmed that she can’t win a Toorak with a big weight. Her days as a winning handicap horse are over. WFA/Set Weights is her go in life and this fits the bill en route to the Cox Plate. She does have a turn of foot and that will keep her within touching distance of Zaaki. Not enough to win.
Odds: $5.50
2021 Underwood Stakes $100 Betting Strategy:
You can’t back anything to beat Zaaki. He just wins. I wouldn’t say Probabeel is a lock to run second because her run last Saturday was okay without jumping up and down. Just play a straight bat, $100 Win Zaaki via Top Tote/Fluc and watch a star rubber stamp his Cox Plate credentials.
Group l Strategy Outlay: $500
Group l Strategy Return: $310