The ATC Chairman’s Handicap is a 2600m staying event held at Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse on the first Saturday in April as part of the opening day of ‘The Championships’.
Doncaster Mile Day features four Group 1 status races led by the $3 million Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) as well as a number of Group 2 and 3 status races including the Chairman’s Handicap.
Worth $300,000 in prize money, the Group 2 quality handicap has a minimum weight of 52kg and a high weight of 61kg. It is a lead-up race to the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) and the winner of the Chairmans Handicap is exempt from ballot and penalty for the Sydney Cup. The Sydney Cup is run one week later at the same Royal Randwick track and The Offer (2014) was the latest horse to complete the Chairman’s Handicap – Sydney Cup double. In 2016 the Chairman’s Handicap winner Libran went on to run second next-up in the Sydney Cup.
The Chairman’s Handicap 2017 ran on Saturday April 1.
| ATC Chairman’s Handicap | |
|---|---|
| Date: | April 1, 2017 |
| Track: | Randwick Racecourse, Sydney |
| Distance: | 2600m |
| Race Type: | Quality Handicap |
| Status: | Group 2 |
| Prizemoney: | $300,000 |
2017 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Results
- 1st: Big Duke
- 2nd: Aloft
- 3rd: Rock On
Read the full ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2017 Results on the win by Sydney Cup-bound stayer Big Duke.
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Wgt. | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | BIG DUKE (IRE) | Darren Weir | Craig Williams | – | 1 | 58kg | $2.45F |
| 2 | 3 | ALOFT (IRE) | Robert Hickmott | Ben Melham | 2L | 7 | 56.5kg | $4.40 |
| 3 | 7 | ROCK ON (NZ) | John Sargent | Brenton Avdulla | 2.8L | 2 | 55.5kg | $8.50 |
| 4 | 5 | ALEGRIA | John O’Shea | Joao Moreira | 6.3L | 6 | 55.5kg | $5.50 |
| 5 | 2 | KINEMA (IRE) | Chris Waller | Zac Purton | 10.1L | 8 | 58kg | $18 |
| 6 | 4 | PENTATHLON (NZ) | John Wheeler | Jason Collett | 13.3L | 3 | 56.5kg | $26 |
| 7 | 8 | VANDANCER (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Tommy Berry | 14.1L | 5 | 55.5kg | $16 |
| 8 | 9 | SHALMANESER | Jason Attard | Tim Clark | 15.9L | 4 | 55.5kg | $51 |
| – | 6 | POLARISATION (GB) | Charlie Appleby | Kerrin McEvoy | – | 0 | – | – |
2017 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Odds
The season’s latest ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2017 betting odds online provided by Ladbrokes.com.au will be available below for Races.com.au readers complete with market links.
2017 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Field
The Chairman’s Handicap field attracts a smart line-up of Sydney Cup-bound stayers and many horses come via an earlier Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival run in a traditional lead-up race like Rosehill’s Group 3 NE Manion Cup (2400m) held a fortnight before.
The official 2017 ATC Chairman’s Handicap field and barriers are set for release on Wednesday March 29, 2017 and will published in full below.
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x1x4211211 | BIG DUKE (IRE) | Darren Weir | Craig Williams | 1 | 58kg | 98 |
| 2 | 170x41x754 | KINEMA (IRE) | Chris Waller | Zac Purton | 9 | 58kg | 98 |
| 3 | 2x1x7x39x1 | ALOFT (IRE) | Robert Hickmott | Ben Melham | 8 | 56.5kg | 95 |
| 4 | 067379×978 | PENTATHLON (NZ) | John Wheeler | Jason Collett | 3 | 56.5kg | 95 |
| 5 | 2x9533x324 | ALEGRIA | John O’Shea | Joao Moreira | 6 | 55.5kg | 93 |
| 6 | 38x2x20x4x | POLARISATION (GB) | Charlie Appleby | Kerrin McEvoy | 7 | 55.5kg | 88 |
| 7 | 2521341241 | ROCK ON (NZ) | John Sargent | Brenton Avdulla | 2 | 55.5kg | 83 |
| 8 | 18×1931236 | VANDANCER (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Tommy Berry | 5 | 55.5kg | 83 |
| 9 | 8835332465 | SHALMANESER | Jason Attard | Tim Clark | 4 | 55.5kg | 78 |
2017 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Nominations
The ATC Chairman’s Handicap nominations 2017 will be published below as soon as released by Racing NSW on Monday March 27, 2017.
The 2017 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Nominations attracted a host of Sydney Cup bound stayers led by the Darren Weir-trained Big Duke coming off a Group 3 NE Manion Cup (2400m) win in the mud at Rosehill on Slipper Day.
ATC Chairman’s Handicap History
The Chairman’s Handicap first recorded win was in 1979 by Lady Dignitas. Since then, No Wine No Song has been the only horse to win the event in two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008. Steel Phoenix has also won the event twice in 1999 and 2001, as did Tremec (2013 & 2015).
The fastest recorded winning time was 2 minutes 29.79 seconds by Henderson Bay in 2002 and the slowest winning time was recorded by Philosophe in 2005 with 2 minutes 51.13 seconds. The race started in 1979 as a Group 3 race and reached its current Group 2 status for the first time in 2002 when Henderson Bay won. It was run over 2600m from 1979 – 1999, but from 2000 – 2003 ran over a shorter distance of 2400m. It has been back up to 2600m since 2004.
See below for the full list of ATC / AJC Chairman’s Handicap results going back to 2000.
Past Chairman’s Handicap Winners
Year |
Place |
Horse |
Time |
| 2018 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | TBD | TBD |
| 2nd | TBD | ||
| 3rd | TBD | ||
| 2017 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Big Duke | 2 minutes 52.49 seconds |
| 2nd | Aloft | ||
| 3rd | Rock On | ||
| 2016 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Libran | 2 minutes 48.13 seconds |
| 2nd | Alegria | ||
| 3rd | Café Society | ||
| 2015 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Tremec | 2 minutes 49.40 seconds |
| 2nd | Sir John Hawkwood | ||
| 3rd | Grand Marshal | ||
| 2014 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | The Offer | 2 minutes 51.63 seconds |
| 2nd | Tremec | ||
| 3rd | Hippopus | ||
| 2013 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Tremec | 2 minutes 44.4 seconds |
| 2nd | Blood Brotha | ||
| 3rd | Aliyana Tilde | ||
| 2012 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Permit | 2 minutes 41.9 seconds |
| 2nd | Older Than Time | ||
| 3rd | Nextanix | ||
| 2011 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Once Were Wild | 2 minutes 43.4 seconds |
| 2nd | Anudjawun | ||
| 3rd | C’est Le Guerre | ||
| 2010 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Jessicabeel | 2 minutes 44.6 seconds |
| 2nd | No Wine No Song | ||
| 3rd | Harris Tweed | ||
| 2009 Chairmans Handicap |
1st |
Divine Rebel |
2 minutes 45.91 seconds |
| 2nd | Ice Chariot | ||
| 3rd | Common Objective | ||
| 2008 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | No Wine No Song | 2 minutes 49.84 seconds |
| 2nd | Sky Biscuit | ||
| 3rd | Resolution | ||
| 2007 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | No Wine No Song | 2 minutes 48.19 seconds |
| 2nd | Prince Arthur | ||
| 3rd | Magic Instinct | ||
| 2006 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Fooram | 2 minutes 45.06 seconds |
| 2nd | Three Chimneys | ||
| 3rd | Cross Bar | ||
| 2005 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Philosophe | 2 minutes 51.13 seconds |
| 2nd | Padfoot Charlie | ||
| 3rd | County Tyrone | ||
| 2004 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Mummify | 2 minutes 47.77 seconds |
| 2nd | County Tyrone | ||
| 3rd | Saturday Fever | ||
| 2003 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Grey Song | 2 minutes 32.44 seconds |
| 2nd | Honor Babe | ||
| 3rd | County Tyrone | ||
| 2002 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Henderson Bay | 2 minutes 29.79 seconds |
| 2nd | Homewrecker | ||
| 3rd | Asia | ||
| 2001 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Steel Phoenix | 2 minutes 32.06 seconds |
| 2nd | Giovana | ||
| 3rd | Wellington | ||
| 2000 Chairmans Handicap |
1st | Pravda | 2 minutes 31.25 seconds |
| 2nd | Consolidator | ||
| 3rd | Regal Touch | ||