The Showdown
The Showdown
Betting Guide
| Date: | Saturday, April 15, 2023 |
| Location: | Sandown Racecourse – Victoria, Australia |
| Prize Money: | $1,000,000 |
| Distance: | 1200m |
The Showdown (1200m) is open only to two-year-old progeny of Victorian-based stallions nominated for the VOBIS Sires Race Series in mid to late April each year.
The inaugural running of The Showdown was held in 2019, with the Matt Laurie-trained Prince Of Sussex claiming victory prior to the horse being sold and raced in Hong Kong.
With $1,000,000 worth of prize money on offer, it makes the race Victoria’s second most prestigious race for two-year-olds with only the Blue Diamond Stakes offering a higher prize pool, with that race also run over the 1200m.
Despite the race only being fresh on the Victorian racing scene, there is no doubt The Showdown will be a race trainers target for late-season two-year-olds moving forward.
Below we will highlight The Showdown betting, form, field, past winners, jockey and trainer statistics.
2023 The Showdown betting odds
The 2023 Showdown odds as of April 15 look like this:
- She’sallshenanigans – $3.10
- Apache Song – $4.60
- Critique – $5.50
- Butch Cassidy – $6.50
- Picky – $11.00
Complete The Showdown odds available at Neds.
Best The Showdown bookmakers
The Showdown is a race that is going to get a lot more attention.
Online bookmakers will have markets up and available the week of the race and will gain more and more attention as the race builds history.
The Showdown betting is open well in advance of the race, with bookmakers traditionally opening markets when nominations begin to trickle in. You can bet on these markets via both computer, telephone and even via online betting apps, which are the most common way Aussies bet in 2024.
The Showdown odds can vary dramatically from bookmaker to bookmaker, so it certainly pays to do your homework before placing your bets, with it possible to secure 10 or 20 per cent better odds with select betting sites.
Latest The Showdown News
2023 The Showdown Final Field
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Previous The Showdown Fields
The Showdown is only in its infancy in terms of history, but there has been some good horses compete in The Showdown. Check out the previous fields here.
No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 
Bello Beau Adam Trinder Brendon McCoull 8 58kg 2 Sir Bailey Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Jamie Kah 4 58kg 3 New York Hurricane Liam Howley John Allen 2 58kg 4 Kings Consort Anthony & Sam Freedman Mark Zahra 6 58kg 5 Don’t Change Nick Ryan Rhys McLeod 7 58kg 6 Rue De Palais Tony & Calvin McEvoy John Allen 14 58kg 7 Promises Kept Greg Eurell Blaike McDougall 5 58kg 8 Stardom Awaayts Matthew Williams Damien Thornton 11 58kg 9 Hollerlujah Henry Dwyer Mitchell Aitken 12 56kg 10 Over Shady Matt Laurie Jye McNeil 13 56kg 11 Soju Session Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Craig Newitt 9 56kg 12 Capital Express Nick Ryan Billy Egan 10 56kg 13 Make It Happen Ben & JD Hayes Michael Dee 1 56kg 14 Volander Matt Laurie Ethan Brown 3 56kg No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 Finance Tycoon Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig Luke Nolen 13 58kg 2 Starry Legend John Sadler Michael Dee 8 58kg 3 Gulf Of Suez Ciaron Maher & David Eustace John Allen 3 58kg 4 Scissor Step Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra Damian Lane 4 58kg 5 Rusheen Tony Noonan Jake Noonan 7 58kg 6 King’s Ransom John Salanitri Daniel Moor 11 58kg 7 Tramontana Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig Daniel Stackhouse 9 58kg 8 Matao Ma Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr Craig Newitt 5 58kg 9 Rotokura Robbie Griffiths & Mathew de Kock Ben Allen 6 58kg 10 Arcaded James Cummings Jamie Kah 12 56kg 11 Sliders James Cummings William Pike 1 56kg 12 Irish Mint Nick Ryan Luke Currie 2 56kg 13 Literary Magnate Matthew Williams Dean Yendall 10 56kg 14 Serious SarahGreg EurellJamie Mott1456kg
2022 The Showdown result
1st – Kings Consort ($10.00)
2nd – Bello Beau ($1.50)
3rd – Volander ($10.30)
Recent The Showdown winners
- Anthony and Sam Freedman continued their dominance of Victoria’s premier two-year-old races at Caulfield as Kings Consort claimed the $1 million Showdown (1200m). The father and son training team has won three of the past four Blue Diamonds and added The Showdown to their impressive trophy collection. Ballarat debut maiden winner Crosswinds, the dearest lot at last year’s Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale when purchased for $1.1 million by James Haron Bloodstock, was due to be the stable elect in the race but suffered a setback ahead of race day, getting loose after dumping Mark Zahra at the Flemington jumpouts the week prior. Instead, Kings Consort, who finished third in Bendigo and Ballarat maidens, went two places better at his third outing to win the second-richest juvenile race on the Victorian calendar with Zahra in the saddle. Kings Consort ($10) settled in the second half of the field and swooped widest of all to win by a short neck from Bello Beau ($2.60 favourite), while Volander ($41) finished third, a further 1.25 lengths away.
- Having finished fourth in the Blue Diamond Stakes behind Artorius, Finance Tycoon simply needed to be somewhere near that form to take out The Showdown in 2021. He did that and then some, with the Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig-trained colt putting the best part of five-lengths on his closest rival. Finance Tycoon overcame a throat condition to win The Showdown, with connections opting to rest him following his Blue Diamond effort, instead of pushing on towards the Golden Slipper. Connections of Finance Tycoon opted to save him for the $500,000 on offer for first place in The Showdown. Having settled outside race leader Starry Legend, Luke Nolen had the colt in the lead by the 300m mark and simply never looked like getting run down in what was a truly dominant display.
- Despite being five-lengths off race favourite River Night at the 200m mark, the Matt Cumani-trained Khoekhoe absolutely stormed home to claim the 2020 edition of The Showdown in dramatic fashion. Having only been purchased for $50,000 at the Melbourne yearling sale 12 months prior, the win handed trainer Matt Cumani and Fred Kersley arguably the biggest wins of their careers, considering the prizemoney that was on offer.
- Michael Dee had the choice of rides between the two favourites in the 2019 Showdown and was confident he had made the right choice sticking with Prince Of Sussex over Sartorial Splendor. Thankfully for the hoop he made the right choice, with the Matt Laurie-trained Prince Of Sussex smashing his rivals in The Showdown and etching his name into the history books. Prince Of Sussex settled just worse than midfield and coming into the home straight Dee was forced to angle back towards the inside when he was not going to be able to get the $3.60 second favourite with the top horse betting sites into the clear on the outside. When clear, Prince Of Sussex burst through the pack and simply never looked like getting beaten once luck was on his side.
The Showdown past winners
| The Showdown Past Winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
| 2022 | Kings Consort | Mark Zahra | Anthony & Sam Freedman |
| 2021 | Finance Tycoon | Luke Nolen | Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig |
| 2020 | Khoekhoe | Fred Kersley | Matt Cumani |
| 2019 | Prince Of Sussex | Michael Dee | Matt Laurie |