Sons Of John has stormed home to win the Group 3 Bill Ritchie Handicap (1400m) at Royal Randwick this afternoon.

A multiple stakes winner, Sons Of John continued to receive steady support in 2016 Bill Ritchie Handicap betting markets leading up to jump, and jockey Blake Shinn was able to find an ideal position in running for the horse from the outset.

Holding onto the heels of Handfast and Testashadow running into the final straight, the Oratorio gelding immediately responded when asked for an extra effort; pulling to the fore of the field and sustaining to the line to beat Torgersen and Federal.

Shinn’s ride was undoubtedly instrumental in Sons Of John’s win in the Bill Ritchie Handicap, but the hoop believes that the horse cannot be discounted from the Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) in a fortnight with a light weight.

“He got in really well at the weights, had a good run first-up a couple of weeks ago and full credit to Jason (Attard, trainer) and his wife Lisa for their remarkable job,” Shinn said.

“It was a real battle. I was surprised a little bit early because I thought that Testashadow and take the front but Dan didn’t want to apply too much pressure early, and Timmy went forward.

“I just rode it where I saw it and it developed into a bit of a sprint home. Jason said he’s got a great sprint, and when the run came he sprinted very quickly.

“I think the main aim is the Epsom and he can’t be underestimated this horse in a race like that, he’ll get in with a light weight and with even luck and a good draw, he’d certainly make his presence felt.”

Attard was understandably thrilled with Sons Of John’s performance for success in the Bill Ritchie Handicap

“We’ve had some fun with him,” Attard said.

“Blake was fairly confident. I told him not to get up on him too early because he’s got a pretty burst at the end, and it just worked out perfectly.

“It was always the aim to go back and have another crack at the Epsom. He should be nice and fit and ready to go, and hopefully Blake wants to ride him again.

“I think he know a bit more about him this time and everything is going in the right direction.”

Sons Of John ran third behind Winx and Ecuador in the 2015 edition of the Group 1 Epsom Handicap.

2016 Bill Ritchie Handicap Results

Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Starting Price
1	4	SONS OF JOHN	Jason Attard	Blake Shinn	–	4	55kg	$6
2	10	TORGERSEN (NZ)	Chris Waller	Christian Reith	0.2L	6	54kg	$12
3	5	FEDERAL	John O’Shea	Craig Williams	0.4L	1	54.5kg	$5F
4	11	HANDFAST	John O’Shea	Tim Clark	0.9L	8	54kg	$5.50
5	6	LADY LE FAY (NZ)	Chris Waller	Glyn Schofield	1L	10	54kg	$21
6	1	HAPPY CLAPPER	Patrick Webster	Brenton Avdulla	1.1L	5	59kg	$5.50
7	2	MIGHTY LUCKY	Fred Cowell	Chris O’Brien	1.2L	9	58.5kg	$20
8	7	TESTASHADOW	Gary Portelli	Ms Deanne Panya (a)	1.7L	3	54kg	$18
9	8	TSARITSA	Chris Waller	Tommy Berry	3L	2	54kg	$8
10	3	SADLER’S LAKE	Chris Waller	James McDonald	3.1L	11	55.5kg	$10
11	9	ZIN ZAN EDDIE	Matthew Smith	Kerrin McEvoy	3.4L	7	54kg	$51