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’.

2025 ATC Chairman’s Quality Results

• 1st: #3 Alalcance ($2.70F)
• 2nd: #12 Birdman
• 3rd: #10 Valiant King

Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott’s classy mare, Alalcance ($2.70F), celebrated a hat-trick with an emphatic victory for the punters in the 2025 Chairman’s Quality results. Overcoming a slow start, jockey Tim Clark rated the bonny grey to perfection riding the last start NE Manion Cup champ positively with the mare responding to sustain a high cruising speed and eventually win by over two lengths. A quick back-up into the 2025 Sydney Cup over the two miles on April 12 now looks likely.

Doncaster Mile Day features four Group 1 status races led by the Group 1 $4 million Doncaster Mile (1600m) as well as a number of Group 2 and 3 status races including the Chairman’s Handicap, also known as the Chairman’s Quality.

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 Chairman’s 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.

The Offer (2014) and Circle Of Fire (2024) are the latest horses to complete the Chairman’s Handicap – Sydney Cup double which has been done nine times.

In 2016 the Chairman’s Handicap winner Libran went on to run second next-up in the Sydney Cup, while in 2017 Big Duke won the Chairman’s before a third in the Sydney Cup. More recently, the 2019 Sydney Cup winner Shraaoh improved on a lead-up Chairman’s Quality second before taking out the two mile classic. The following year, the 2020 Chairman’s winner Raheen House backed-up and finished a brave third in the Sydney Cup trifecta.

The 2021 Chairman’s Quality form was franked with the runner-up Rondinella going on to finish second in that year’s Sydney Cup quinella.

In 2022 Knights Order improved on a lead-up second in the Chairman’s Quality to win the Sydney Cup next start for the Waterhouse/Bott stable. He further franked the form that spring returning to run third in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) in Melbourne.

The Chairman’s Quality 2025 ran on Saturday April 5, 2025 at Royal Randwick as a last-minute Sydney Cup lead-up and was won by an emphatic 2.64 lengths by the race favourite Alalcance ($2.70F) from the Waterhouse/Bott yard. 

2025 ATC Chairman’s Quality Finishing Order

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2025 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Betting

The season’s latest ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2025 betting odds online provided by Ladbrokes.com.au will be available here at Races.com.au complete with market links.

There was a notable upset in 2022 with Nerve Not Verve winning the event at Chairman’s Quality odds of $26. Nerve Not Verve returned to run a close third in the 2023 Chairman’s Quality results that were led by the Chris Waller-trained outsider Surefire at $17.

Circle Of Fire ($3.60 in 2024) and Alalcance ($2.70 in 2025) are the latest favourites in Chairman’s Quality betting to win.

2025 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2025 CHAIRMAN’S QUALITY FORM GUIDE

2025 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Chairman’s Quality 2025 Tips on the Randwick staying showdown this April.

• To Win: #3 Alalcance ($2.60 at time of publish) – BET NOW

More than happy to stick with the airborne Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott trained favourite in Saturday’s Chairman’s with 3. ALALCANE chasing a hat-trick. This bonny grey daughter of Mastercraftsman was last seen winning Rosehill’s Group 3 NE Manion Cup on March 22 by a blowout margin of over fourth lengths. She carted 55.5kg to the easy win over the mile and a half that day on the back of a win fresh over 2000m at Randwick and will only improve off it. She will have zero issues over the 2600m and the 3200m should she continue onto the Syndey Cup. Tim Clark retains the ride from a good gate four draw, and she only goes up a kilo so is still right in this weight-wise. Stays all day, handles all conditions and is proven on Heavy going if things don’t clear up. Huge hope.

2025 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 2025 Chairman’s Quality Field is set for release on the Wednesday of race week and will be published in full below.

The Chairman’s Quality 2025 final field features a strong line-up of autumn stayers led in betting by NE Manion Cup winning mare Alalcance chasing her third straight win this prep.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2025 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Nominations

The ATC Chairman’s Handicap nominations 2025 will be published below as soon as released by Racing NSW on the Monday of race week.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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 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.

Alalcance (2025) was the last mare to win the Chairman’s Handicap.

See below for the full list of ATC / AJC Chairman’s Handicap results going back to 2000.

Past Chairman’s Handicap Winners