By Zdin

Copyright tnp

MELBOURNE Sir Delius will take a step towards his spring goals when he lines up in the Underwood Stakes on Sept 20.

The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable will chase their third success in four years in the A$1 million (S$849,000) Group 1 Caulfield contest.

The imported galloper, who was a three-time winner for French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, lines up for his new stable in the 1,800m weight-for-age event as they look to repeat the efforts of the now-retired Alligator Blood in 2022 and 2023.

The first of Alligator Blood’s victories came when the race was run at Sandown on the day following the AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final while it moved back to Caulfield the following year.

Waterhouse and Bott did not have a runner in the 2024 renewal when the Chris Waller-trained Buckaroo took out the race.

Buckaroo is back again this time and is the 4-1 second elect behind Sir Delius, who is currently the even-money market leader.

Sir Delius came to Australia having won his first three starts in France as Delius, with his only unplaced performance coming in the 2024 Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2,400m) when finishing eighth.

Purchased by Sir Owen Glenn and clients of Waterhouse and Bott, Sir Delius made an imposing start to his Australian career.

He won the Group 3 Chairman’s Handicap (2,000m) under Tim Clark at Doomben on May 17, quickly becoming 8-1 Melbourne Cup second favourite as a result.

After a break to prepare for the spring, the English-bred Frankel entire resumed with a narrow second to Lindermann in the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes (1,600m) at Randwick on Sept 6, with Clark again in the saddle.

With Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup aspirations, the five-year-old has been based at Flemington since that first-up run.

Bott said the four-time winner (2,000m to 2,400m) had settled in well to his new surrounds and, while gate 11 is not ideal in the 12-horse field, it was not beyond the entire.

“He went down to Melbourne not long after his run up here and he seems in good shape,” said Bott.

“He worked on the course proper there, got a good feel for the tracks down there and he has worked up nicely.

“He should appreciate getting out that little bit further in distance again. I’d like to think he will show some nice improvement off that first-up run.

“It was a lovely first-up run. He lost no admirers, and he looks set for a nice campaign.”

Waterhouse and Bott are planning to send Sir Delius to the Group 1 Might And Power (2,000m) at Caulfield on Oct 11, on his way to the Group 1 Cox Plate (2,040m) at Moonee Valley two weeks later.

The Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3,200m) at Flemington on Nov 4 is also on the agenda.

Booked for Sir Delius’ first Melbourne travel, champion jockey Craig Williams will also be chasing an eighth Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1,400m) in the next event.

Williams will steer exciting galloper Sepals, who is prepared by former Kranji-based Australian trainer Cliff Brown.

Sepals will be bidding for his Group 1 breakthrough and overall fifth win at only his seventh start in Caulfield’s $1 million handicap. He is currently the second 4-1 joint-favourite behind the Chris Waller-trained Angel Capital (5-2) who is owned by the Yulong powerhouse.

On the other hand, Sepals has a more modest origin. Brown purchased the son of the late sire Calyx for A$80,000 at the Inglis Classic in 2023, drawn by a lineage he knows well.

He trained the dam What’s New to two Kranji Group successes in the first two legs of the 2019 Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge, the Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) and Group 3 Silver Bowl (1,400m).

Despite managing only fourth to the Lee Freedman-trained Sun Marshal in the third leg, the Group 1 Singapore Derby (2,000m), What’s New was crowned Singapore champion four-year-old. RACING AND SPORTS