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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’.

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 2024 ran on Saturday April 6, 2024 at Royal Randwick as a last minute Sydney Cup lead-up and was won narrowly by Ciaron Maher’s progressive import Circle Of Fire ($3.60F). 

2024 ATC Chairman’s Handicap
Date:	Saturday April 6, 2024
Track:	Randwick Racecourse, Sydney
Distance:	2600m
Race Type:	Quality Handicap
Status:	Group 2
Prizemoney:	$300,000

2024 ATC Chairman’s Quality Results

• 1st: #11 Circle Of Fire ($3.60F)
• 2nd: #4 Hopeful
• 3rd: #12 Double Cherry

A quick back-up into the Sydney Cup field looks likely for the up-and-coming Ciaron Maher-trained import Circle Of Fire ($3.60F) who was strong late mowing down his rivals and saluting for the punters in the 2024 Chairman’s Quality results.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	11	CIRCLE OF FIRE (GB)	Ciaron Maher	Dylan Gibbons (a)		8	53kg		$3.60F
	2	4	HOPEFUL (FR)	Annabel Neasham	Jason Collett	0.44L	7	54.5kg		$8.50
	3	12	DOUBLE CHERRY (IRE)	Annabel Neasham	Tom Sherry	1.63L	4	53kg		$12
	4	9	SO DAZZLING (NZ)	John Sargent	Ms Rachel King	3.35L	9	53kg		$16
	5	2	STOCKMAN (NZ)	Joseph Pride	Reece Jones	3.68L	5	58.5kg		$4.20
	6	1	LOFT (GER)	Ben, Will & JD Hayes	Mark Zahra	7.53L	10	59kg		$26
	7	6	ZEGALO (IRE)	Mike Cattell	Ron Stewart	7.67L	2	54kg		$81
	8	13	FUNAMBULIST (IRE)	Annabel Neasham	Declan Bates	7.83L	1	53kg		$14
	9	8	VERONA (NZ)	Ciaron Maher	Ms Jamie Kah	8.07L	3	53kg		$3.80
	10	14	MARSABIT (IRE)	Danny Williams	Quayde Krogh	11.39L	6	53kg		$31
		3	MANZOICE	Chris Waller	Zac Lloyd (a)		0
		7	REGAL LION (NZ)	Annabel Neasham	Michael Dee		0
		10	YANKEE HUSSEL	Kris Lees	Craig Williams		0
		5	TORRENS	Marc Chevalier	Ms Jenny Duggan		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2024 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Betting Odds

The season’s latest ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2024 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.

Circle Of Fire ($3.60 in 2024) was the last favourite in Chairman’s Quality betting to win.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2024 CHAIRMAN’S QUALITY ODDS (Final Field)

2024 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2024 CHAIRMAN’S QUALITY FORM GUIDE

2024 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Chairman’s Quality 2024 Tips on the Randwick staying showdown this April.

• To Win: #11 Circle Of Fire ($4 at time of publish) – BET NOW

The Chairman’s Stakes is shaping up to be a competitive race, and Circle Of Fire has emerged as a leading contender. The Ciaron Maher-trained import has steadily tightened in the betting and offers value despite being the current favourite. He comes into the race fit after a two consistent fourth-place finishes, each time carrying significantly more weight against weaker competition. His latest effort saw him narrowly miss the placings behind Wymark, a top elect in this Saturday’s ATC Derby. Circle Of Fire enjoys a significant weight reduction (from 60.5kg to 53kg) and gets the in-form Dylan Gibbons aboard following his Tancred Stakes win last weekend. While his winning form extends only to a mile, consider some of his longer-distance runs before arriving in Australia.

2024 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 2024 Chairman’s Quality Field is set for release on Wednesday April 3, 2024 and will be published in full below.

The Chairman’s Quality 2024 final field features a line-up of last minute Sydney Cup hopes including the progressive Ciaron Maher-trained import Circle Of Fire and Chris Waller’s NE Manion Cup runner-up last time out Manzoice.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	2x11x2x770	LOFT (GER)	Ben, Will & JD Hayes	Mark Zahra	14	59kg			103
2	40194×0736	STOCKMAN (NZ)	Joseph Pride	Reece Jones	6	58.5kg			102
3	0x800x8852	MANZOICE	Chris Waller	Zac Lloyd (a)	8	56.5kg			98
4	0020x006x6	HOPEFUL (FR)	Annabel Neasham	Jason Collett	9	54.5kg			94
5	0004235287	TORRENS	Marc Chevalier	Ms Jenny Duggan	13	54.5kg			94
6	x531686050	ZEGALO (IRE)	Mike Cattell		3	54kg			65
7	169×099852	REGAL LION (NZ)	Annabel Neasham	Michael Dee	1	53kg			90
8	x094139x79	VERONA (NZ)	Ciaron Maher	Ms Jamie Kah	4	53kg			88
9	00x7059x00	SO DAZZLING (NZ)	John Sargent	Ms Rachel King	12	53kg			85
10	x574611107	YANKEE HUSSEL	Kris Lees	Craig Williams	11	53kg			81
11	31x2343x44	CIRCLE OF FIRE (GB)	Ciaron Maher	Dylan Gibbons (a)	10	53kg			79
12	x412x00x01	DOUBLE CHERRY (IRE)	Annabel Neasham	Tom Sherry	5	53kg			76
13	4x861322x5	FUNAMBULIST (IRE)	Annabel Neasham	Declan Bates	2	53kg			69
14	00698×9950	MARSABIT (IRE)	Danny Williams	Quayde Krogh	7	53kg			65

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2024 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Nominations

The ATC Chairman’s Handicap nominations 2024 will be published below as soon as released by Racing NSW on Monday April 1, 2024.

Nominations extended until 11:00am (AEDT) – 02/04/2024

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	31x2343x44	CIRCLE OF FIRE (GB)	H	4	Ciaron Maher	79
2	x02312x673	DANISH FORTUNE	G	6	Darren McLeod	85
3	x412x00x01	DOUBLE CHERRY (IRE)	G	5	Annabel Neasham	76
4	0020x006x6	HOPEFUL (FR)	G	7	Annabel Neasham	94
5	2x11x2x770	LOFT (GER)	G	6	Ben, Will & JD Hayes	103
6	0x800x8852	MANZOICE	G	4	Chris Waller	98
7	00698×9950	MARSABIT (IRE)	G	6	Danny Williams
8	8021110×67	NORMANDY BRIDGE (FR)	G	6	Ciaron Maher	98
9	038x212x51	RATTLE AND HUM (IRE)	G	4	Michael Freedman	70
10	169×099852	REGAL LION (NZ)	G	5	Annabel Neasham	90
11	00x7059x00	SO DAZZLING (NZ)	M	4	John Sargent	85
12	40194×0736	STOCKMAN (NZ)	G	7	Joseph Pride	102
13	0004235287	TORRENS	H	7	Marc Chevalier	94
14	x094139x79	VERONA (NZ)	M	5	Ciaron Maher	88
15	x574611107	YANKEE HUSSEL	M	4	Kris Lees	81
16	x531686050	ZEGALO (IRE)	G	7	Mike Cattell	65

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
2024 Chairman’s Handicap	1st	Circle Of Fire	2 minutes 46.12 seconds
	2nd	Hopeful
	3rd	Double Cherry
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

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