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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’.

*In 2021 the Chairman’s Handicap ran on the second Saturday of April with all race meetings of the autumn in Sydney from Slipper Day onwards postponed a week due to the weather.

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 and The Offer (2014) was the latest horse when becoming the eighth 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, 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 2023 ran on Saturday April 1, 2023 at Royal Randwick as a last minute Sydney Cup lead-up and was won in an upset by Chris Waller’s gutsy five-year-old Surefire ($17). 

2023 ATC Chairman’s Handicap
Date:	Saturday April 1, 2023
Track:	Randwick Racecourse, Sydney
Distance:	2600m
Race Type:	Quality Handicap
Status:	Group 2
Prizemoney:	$300,000

2023 ATC Chairman’s Quality Results

• 1st: #5 Surefire ($17)
• 2nd: #9 Gin Martini
• 3rd: #6 Nerve Not Verve

The Chris Waller-trained Surefire ($17) was back in winning form relishing a Heavy (8) track and perfectly-timed ride by the ‘Magic Man’ Joao Moreira to narrowly hold off gutsy mares Gin Martini ($7.50) and last year’s champion Nerve Not Verve ($8) in the Chairman’s Quality 2023 results ahead of a potential seven day back-up into the Group 1 Sydney Cup field.

Click here to read more on the win by Surefire in the Chairman’s Quality 2023 on Doncaster Day.

2023 Chairman’s Quality Results & Finishing Order

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	5	SUREFIRE (GB)	Chris Waller	Joao Moreira		2	56kg		$17
	2	9	GIN MARTINI (NZ)	John Sargent	Damian Lane	0.32L	7	54kg		$7.50
	3	6	NERVE NOT VERVE (NZ)	Michael Moroney	Dean Holland	0.46L	13	55.5kg		$8
	4	3	HIGH EMOCEAN (NZ)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen	2.72L	8	56kg		$8
	5	17	PESTO (GB)	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Zac Lloyd (a)	2.77L	3	53kg		$41
	6	7	BENAUD	John O’Shea	James McDonald	2.87L	5	55.5kg		$7F
	7	1	STOCKMAN (NZ)	Joseph Pride	Sam Clipperton	3.04L	6	59kg		$7.50
	8	8	SACRAMENTO	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	4.24L	15	55kg		$17
	9	16	LE BAOL (FR)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ms Louise Day	4.54L	9	53kg		$17
	10	12	NORMANDY BRIDGE (FR)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Tyler Schiller (a)	4.6L	16	53kg		$12
	11	2	TORRENS	Marc Chevalier	Joshua Parr	5.9L	1	56.5kg (cd 57kg)		$18
	12	13	RAGING BULL	David Payne	Ms Rachel King	13.56L	11	53kg		$17
	13	18	ZEGALO (IRE)	Mike Cattell	Reece Jones (a)	18.1L	10	53kg		$101
	14	19	TAPPY’S LAD (NZ)	Kerry Taplin	Ben Thompson	22.98L	12	53kg		$81
	15	4	ASTERIX (NZ)	Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott	Michael Dee	24.99L	14	56kg		$14
	FF	14	ATHABASCAN (FR)	John O’Shea	Brett Prebble		4	53kg		$19
		10	TIMOUR (FR)	Chris Waller	Kerrin McEvoy		0
		15	ALMANIA (IRE)	Kris Lees	Dylan Gibbons (a)		0
		11	REBEL RACER	Amy & Ash Yargi	Craig Newitt		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Betting Odds

The season’s latest ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2023 betting odds online provided by Ladbrokes.com.au will be available below for Races.com.au readers 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.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 CHAIRMAN’S QUALITY ODDS (Final Field)

2023 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 CHAIRMAN’S QUALITY FORM GUIDE

2023 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Chairman’s Quality 2023 Tips on the Randwick staying showdown this April.

• To Win: #9 Gin Martini ($7.50 at time of publish) 

Open edition of the Chairman’s without a standout favourite to get behind. That also opens up a bit of value and sticking with sticking with John Sargent’s Rip Van Winkle mare Gin Martini. She’s drawn barrier 10 with time to get into position, and she is fit now third-up. Confidence boosting win last time out at Rosehill on March 18 in the Group 3 Epona Stakes over 1800m. She has winning form up to two miles so, even thought Randwick isn’t her preferred track, she’ll eat up the extra distance here with natural improvement on her side. Comes back in weight and Damian Lane aboard in another plus.

2023 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 2023 Chairman’s Quality Field is set for release on Wednesday March 29, 2023 and will be published in full below.

The Chairman’s Quality 2023 final field features a bumper line-up of Sydney Cup-bound stayers including last start Group 3 Epona Stakes winning mare Gin Martini and the the Kris Lees-trained favourite Almania beaten under a length when fifth in the Group 3 NE Manion Cup last time out.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	44188×0058	STOCKMAN (NZ)	Joseph Pride	Sam Clipperton	9	59kg			106
2	1x8x601x06	TORRENS	Marc Chevalier	Joshua Parr	1	56.5kg			101
3	x341613x58	HIGH EMOCEAN (NZ)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen	11	56kg			104
4	6811×9104	ASTERIX (NZ)	Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott	Michael Dee	17	56kg			100
5	155021×889	SUREFIRE (GB)	Chris Waller	Joao Moreira	2	56kg			100
6	x9248x9722	NERVE NOT VERVE (NZ)	Michael Moroney	Dean Holland	16	55.5kg			103
7	x64260x994	BENAUD	John O’Shea	James McDonald	7	55.5kg			99
8	94530×5344	SACRAMENTO	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	18	55kg			98
9	x064314x61	GIN MARTINI (NZ)	John Sargent	Damian Lane	10	54kg			98
10	4565×70431	TIMOUR (FR)	Chris Waller	Kerrin McEvoy	5	54kg			96
11	82×6932211	REBEL RACER	Amy & Ash Yargi	Craig Newitt	6	54kg			96
12	x470x8x808	NORMANDY BRIDGE (FR)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Tyler Schiller (a)	19	53kg			92
13	4x15x76772	RAGING BULL	David Payne	Ms Rachel King	14	53kg			92
14	62334×8537	ATHABASCAN (FR)	John O’Shea	Brett Prebble	4	53kg			88
15	4x25x34315	ALMANIA (IRE)	Kris Lees	Dylan Gibbons (a)	8	53kg			86
16	8x835593x5	LE BAOL (FR)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ms Louise Day	12	53kg			85
17	1234×74790	PESTO (GB)	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Zac Lloyd (a)	3	53kg			77
18	0909702342	ZEGALO (IRE)	Mike Cattell	Reece Jones (a)	13	53kg			64
19	1253045110	TAPPY’S LAD (NZ)	Kerry Taplin	Ben Thompson	15	53kg			80

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Nominations

The ATC Chairman’s Handicap nominations 2023 will be published below as soon as released by Racing NSW on Monday March 27, 2023.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	4087340×04	ALAKAHAN (IRE)	G	7	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	88
2	4x25x34315	ALMANIA (IRE)	G	7	Kris Lees	86
3	6811×9104	ASTERIX (NZ)	G	4	Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott	100
4	62334×8537	ATHABASCAN (FR)	H	4	John O’Shea	88
5	x64260x994	BENAUD	G	4	John O’Shea	100
6	x064314x61	GIN MARTINI (NZ)	M	4	John Sargent	98
7	x341613x58	HIGH EMOCEAN (NZ)	M	6	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	104
8	8x835593x5	LE BAOL (FR)	G	7	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	85
9	2x318x3x	LIONEL (GB)	G	4	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	84
10	x9248x9722	NERVE NOT VERVE (NZ)	M	7	Michael Moroney	103
11	x470x8x808	NORMANDY BRIDGE (FR)	G	5	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	92
12	1234×74790	PESTO (GB)	G	7	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	77
13	4x15x76772	RAGING BULL	G	4	David Payne	92
14	82×6932211	REBEL RACER	G	6	Amy & Ash Yargi
15	94530×5344	SACRAMENTO	G	6	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	98
16	26×2110307	SECRET GLAMOUR	M	4	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	78
17	44188×0058	STOCKMAN (NZ)	G	6	Joseph Pride
18	155021×889	SUREFIRE (GB)	G	5	Chris Waller	100
19	1253045110	TAPPY’S LAD (NZ)	G	5	Kerry Taplin	80
20	46x31x47x	TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS (IRE)	G	4	Joseph O’Brien	74
21	4565×70431	TIMOUR (FR)	G	5	Chris Waller	96
22	1x8x601x06	TORRENS	H	6	Marc Chevalier	101
23	0909702342	ZEGALO (IRE)	G	6	Mike Cattell	64

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.

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
2023 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Surefire	2 minutes 52.45 seconds
	2nd	Gin Martini
	3rd	Nerve Not Verve
2022 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Nerve Not Verve	2 minutes 51.96 seconds
	2nd	Knights Order
	3rd	Luncies
2021 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Quick Thinker	2 minutes 45.45 seconds
	2nd	Rondinella
	3rd	Paths Of Glory
2020 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Raheen House	2 minutes 47.85 seconds
	2nd	Carif
	3rd	Mirage Dancer
2019 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Gallic Chieftain	2 minutes 47.95 seconds
	2nd	Shraaoh
	3rd	Semari
2018 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Sir Charles Road	2 minutes 41.57 seconds
	2nd	Ventura Storm
	3rd	Peribsen
2017 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Big Duke	2 minutes 52.49 seconds
	2nd	Aloft
	3rd	Rock On
2016 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Libran	2 minutes 48.13 seconds
	2nd	Alegria
	3rd	Café Society
2015 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Tremec	2 minutes 49.40 seconds
	2nd	Sir John Hawkwood
	3rd	Grand Marshal
2014 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	The Offer	2 minutes 51.63 seconds
	2nd	Tremec
	3rd	Hippopus
2013 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Tremec	2 minutes 44.4 seconds
	2nd	Blood Brotha
	3rd	Aliyana Tilde
2012 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Permit	2 minutes 41.9 seconds
	2nd	Older Than Time
	3rd	Nextanix
2011 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Once Were Wild	2 minutes 43.4 seconds
	2nd	Anudjawun
	3rd	C’est Le Guerre
2010 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Jessicabeel	2 minutes 44.6 seconds
	2nd	No Wine No Song
	3rd	Harris Tweed
2009 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Divine Rebel	2 minutes 45.91 seconds
	2nd	Ice Chariot
	3rd	Common Objective
2008 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	No Wine No Song	2 minutes 49.84 seconds
	2nd	Sky Biscuit
	3rd	Resolution
2007 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	No Wine No Song	2 minutes 48.19 seconds
	2nd	Prince Arthur
	3rd	Magic Instinct
2006 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Fooram	2 minutes 45.06 seconds
	2nd	Three Chimneys
	3rd	Cross Bar
2005 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Philosophe	2 minutes 51.13 seconds
	2nd	Padfoot Charlie
	3rd	County Tyrone
2004 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Mummify	2 minutes 47.77 seconds
	2nd	County Tyrone
	3rd	Saturday Fever
2003 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Grey Song	2 minutes 32.44 seconds
	2nd	Honor Babe
	3rd	County Tyrone
2002 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Henderson Bay	2 minutes 29.79 seconds
	2nd	Homewrecker
	3rd	Asia
2001 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Steel Phoenix	2 minutes 32.06 seconds
	2nd	Giovana
	3rd	Wellington
2000 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Pravda	2 minutes 31.25 seconds
	2nd	Consolidator
	3rd	Regal Touch