Australia: Zaaki, Anamoe heavily favored in pair of Group 1 stakes

Short-priced favorites are expected to dominate Group 1 Australian races in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday.

Zaaki, the future-book favorite for the Cox Plate on Oct. 23, will be odds-on to win his fifth stakes of 2021 in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes at 1 1/8 miles against only four rivals at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne.

Trained by Annabel Neashem, Zaaki won the Group 2 Tramway Stakes at seven furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Sept. 4 in his first start since June. A 7-year-old English-bred gelding, Zaaki was purchased for approximately $195,000 last fall at a horses in training sale and has rocketed to the top of the list of candidates for the $3.65 million Cox Plate, Australia’s leading weight-for-age race.

The $730,900 Underwood is run at 1 1/8 miles, a furlong shorter than the Cox Plate. Aside from Zaaki, the 5-year-old mare Probabeel has the best chance in the Underwood.

A six-time group stakes winner, Probabeel was fifth by 1 1/4 lengths in the Group 1 Rupert Clarke Stakes at seven furlongs at Caulfield Racecourse on Sept. 18 racing on the inside in a field of 16 and finishing well.

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Probabeel was seventh of 14 in the 2020 Cox Plate.

At Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney on Saturday, the star 3-year-old Anamoe will be around even-money to win his fifth stakes in his ninth start in the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes at seven furlongs.

The $730,900 Golden Rose Stakes drew a field of 13 3-year-olds.

Anamoe, trained by James Cummings for Godolphin Racing, won the Group 2 Run to the Rose Stakes at seven furlongs at Kembla Grange Racecourse on Sept. 11 as the 5-2 second choice. Remarque, third as the 2-1 favorite in the Run to the Rose Stakes, is part of the Golden Rose field, but rated as a 7-1 chance this time in early betting.

Artorius, who beat Anamoe in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds in February, is 8-1 after two second-place finishes by a neck in stakes at Caulfield and Flemington in late August and earlier this month. Artorius is winless in three starts since the Blue Diamond.

The Rosehill Gardens program begins at 9:55 p.m. Eastern, or 6:55 p.m. Pacific, on Friday, a few minutes earlier than the start of the Sandown card. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.