The Chris Waller-trained Mchale is into the Group 1 $1.5 million Epsom Handicap (1600m) after scoring a devastatingly close upset in Saturday’s 2024 Bill Ritchie Handicap results in Sydney.
The underrated Shooting To Win four-year-old went out at $26 in markets first-up in this year’s Group 3 $250,000 Bill Ritchie Handicap (1400m) but was there when it counted narrowly denying the better fancied Gringotts victory in the key Epsom lead-up.
In a thrilling finish at Randwick, the Rachel King-ridden Mchale drove up the inside getting a dream run up the rails on the straight to get past the front running Felix Majestic and hold out the fast-finishing Gringotts in a photo.
Felix Majestic having led nearly all the way held for third to complete the trifecta.
It was a terrific and somewhat unexpected return to winning form for the horse who was last seen running third in Brisbane’s Group 3 Gunsynd Classic (1600m) back in mid-June at Eagle Farm.
“He’s always been thereabouts and not had a lot of luck, and things went against him in Queensland,” winning trainer Waller told Sky Thoroughbred Central after the victory.
“It was a great ride from Rachel, saved every inch of ground and got there where it counted.
“I was surprised to see his odds but when you see those odds, you sort of say, ‘Oh gee, maybe I’ve got it wrong,’ but yeah, he’s a handy horse.
“He’s always never far away and decent races in a couple of Group races.”
The Bill Ritchie Handicap – Epsom Handicap double has been completed four times in the past five years with Kolding (2019), Probabeel (2020), Top Ranked (2022), and Rediener (2023) all successful in both events.
All-in betting on the 2024 Epsom Handicap running back at Randwick on October 5 have Mchale listed at $21 to be the next and Waller was quick to confirm plans to target the mile classic next up.
“Yeah, my word!” the master trainer said.
Click here for the latest Epsom markets courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.
2024 Bill Ritchie Handicap Results & Finishing Order
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | MCHALE | Chris Waller | Ms Rachel King | 4 | 53kg | $26 | |||
| 2 | 8 | GRINGOTTS (NZ) | Ciaron Maher | Tommy Berry | 0.01L | 3 | 55kg | $4.60 | ||
| 3 | 15 | FELIX MAJESTIC | Gary Nickson | Ms Molly Bourke (a) | 1.21L | 2 | 53kg | $18 | ||
| 4 | 10 | KINTYRE | Gary Portelli | Jason Collett | 2.62L | 12 | 54kg | $16 | ||
| 5 | 4 | TOM KITTEN | James Cummings | James McDonald | 2.9L | 11 | 57kg | $3.60F | ||
| 6 | 7 | AIRMAN | Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes | Tim Clark | 2.96L | 9 | 56kg | $31 | ||
| 7 | 1 | AMENABLE | Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) | Chad Schofield | 3.15L | 6 | 58kg | $6 | ||
| 8 | 3 | RUSTIC STEEL | Kris Lees | Jay Ford | 3.64L | 7 | 57.5kg | $61 | ||
| 9 | 2 | FREEDOM RALLY | Tony Gollan | Nash Rawiller | 5.64L | 5 | 57.5kg | $7 | ||
| 10 | 13 | CAFE MILLENIUM | John O’Shea & Tom Charlton | Zac Lloyd (a) | 7.5L | 10 | 53kg | $20 | ||
| 11 | 6 | PHEARSON | Brad Widdup | Adam Hyeronimus | 9.99L | 8 | 56.5kg | $16 | ||
| 12 | 14 | SCARLET OAK | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 11.29L | 1 | 53kg | $13 | ||
| 9 | ROBUSTO | Bjorn Baker | Dylan Gibbons | 0 | ||||||
| 5 | ROOTS | Chris Waller | 0 | |||||||
| 11 | CHORLTON LANE (IRE) | Ciaron Maher | 0 | |||||||
| 12 | MATCHA LATTE | Sara Ryan | Regan Bayliss | 0 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
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