ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2024

Ladbrokes Tip: The Chairman’s Handicap – Sydney Cup double is popular with punters each autumn.

The ATC Chairman’s Handicap – or Chairman’s Quality – is a Group 2 status race for stayers held on Day 1 of Sydney’s ‘The Championships’ on the first Saturday in April at Royal Randwick Racecourse.

2022 Chairman’s Quality winner Nerve Not Verve. Photo: Steve Hart.

One of the major Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival meetings, Doncaster Mile Day is headlined by four Group 1 races plus the Chairman’s Handicap contested over 2600m.

The highlights on the card that the Chairman’s Handicap supports are the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m), Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m), Group 1 Australian Derby (2400m), and the Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m).

There are also a host of Group 3 support acts on the card including the Group 3 PJ Bell Stakes (1200m) for three-year-old fillies.

Offering a lucrative $300,000 in total prize money and open to horses aged three-years-old and above, the Chairman’s Handicap is a set weights clash and is a traditional lead-up to the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) back at Randwick the following Saturday.

Plenty of Sydney Cup winners and place-getters have come out of the Chairman’s Handicap in recent years with the last to complete the double being The Offer (2014). Other recent Chairman’s Handicap – Sydney Cup double winners include Jessicabeel (2010), No Wine No Song (2008) and Henderson Bay (2002).

More recently in 2020 the Chairman’s winner Raheen House ran a next-up third in the Sydney Cup results, while in 2021 the Chairman’s Quality form was franked with the runner-up Rondinella going on to finish second in that year’s Sydney Cup quinella.

The latest edition of the Chairman’s Handicap ran on Saturday April 6, 2024 at Randwick on Day 1 of The Championships and was won by the fast-finishing favourite Circle Of Fire ($3.60F) for Ciaron Maher. 

2024 Chairman’s Handicap Results

The complete ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2024 Results and race finishing order will be available right here once the race is run and won on Saturday April 6, 2024.

2024 Chairman’s Quality winner Circle Of Fire could back-up into the Sydney Cup field. Photo: Steve Hart.

• 1st: #11 Circle Of Fire
• 2nd: #4 Hopeful
• 3rd: #12 Double Cherry

Ciaron Maher looks to have a top import primed for a quick back-up into the Sydney Cup field after Circle Of Fire ($3.60F) handled a rise in grade and Heavy-rated track to narrowly salute for the punters in the 2024 Chairman’s Quality results at Randwick.

2024 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Odds

Betting on the Chairman’s Handicap 2024 and odds for the Sydney Cup lead-up will be available below the week of the race so stay tuned for markets on the staying showdown.

ATC Chairman’s Handicap Race Info

• Date: Saturday April 6, 2024
• Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
• Distance: 2600m
• Conditions: Quality Handicap
• Status: Group 2
• Prize Money: $300,000
• First Run: 1979

Chairman’s Handicap Betting

Chairman’s Handicap betting markets favour proven stayers with form in Sydney over at least 2400m. Gallopers with winning form up or over the mile and a half have a top record stepping up to the 2600m of the Chairman’s Handicap, and the odds favour the best runners coming out of the NE Manion Cup the month before.

The Chairman’s Handicap – Sydney Cup betting double is also popular each Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival, and the results of the former can impact the odds on the latter during ‘The Championships’.

There was an upset result in 2022 with Nerve Not Verve winning the Chairman’s at $26 odds.

Surefire scored another upset at Chairman’s Quality odds of $17 in 2023 with Nerve Not Verve returning to run a brave third.

Circle Of Fire ($3.60 in 2024) was the last Chairman’s Handicap favourite to salute.

Chairman’s Handicap Field

The Chairman’s Handicap race field attracts proven stayers that are looking for the Sydney Cup ballot exemption on offer to the winner in the next Saturday’s iconic two mile clash.

The key lead-up for Chairman’s Handicap horses is Rosehill’s Group 3 NE Manion Cup (2400m) run the previous month over the mile and a half.

In recent years, Libran (2016) won both races before backing-up with a Sydney Cup second to Gallante while Big Duke (2017) also completed the NE Manion – Chairman’s Quality double the following year ahead of his third in the Sydney Cup results.

ATC Chairman’s Handicap nominations close the Monday before the race runs on the Saturday with the final field and barriers released on the Wednesday.

Libran (2016) won the Chairman’s Handicap before his second in the Sydney Cup next start over the two miles. Photo Credit: Steve Hart.

2024 Chairman’s Handicap Field

The official ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2024 final field and barriers are set to be released by Racing NSW on Wednesday April 3, 2024 and will be announced in full below.

The 2024 Chairman’s Quality Handicap field features a line-up of potential Sydney Cup hopes with markets led by Ciaron Maher’s progressive import Circle Of Fire to be ridden by star apprentice Dylan Gibbons who won the Tancred last weekend.

2024 Chairman’s Handicap Nominations

The early Chairman’s Quality 2024 nominations close the Monday leading-up to Doncaster Mile Day and will be available in full below once released.

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

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Chairman’s Handicap Form Guide

The Chairman’s Handicap form guide details all the crucial info punters need before placing a bet like saddlecloth numbers, jockeys, trainers, barriers and lead-up runs.

Looking for horses that come off a run in the NE Manion Cup on the form guide is important as that Rosehill lead-up has provided lots of Chairman’s Handicap winners in recent years including Big Duke (2017), Libran (2016) and The Offer (2014) who all completed the double.

The Chairman’s Handicap form often stacks up the following Saturday back at Randwick Racecourse in the classic Sydney Cup. Both the 2017 (Big Duke) and 2018 (Sir Charles Road) Chairman’s Handicap winners ran third in the Sydney Cup next start.

In 2016 Libran backed up from a Chairman’s Handicap win to run second in the Sydney Cup, while The Offer (2014) completed the Chairman’s Handicap – Sydney Cup double. Jessicabeel (2010) also won the Sydney Cup after success in the Chairman’s the run before.

The 2022 Chairman’s Quality form was franked with the runner-up Knights Order winning the Sydney Cup for Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott next start. He also returned that spring and finished a good third in Melbourne’s Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).

2024 Chairman’s Handicap Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Chairman’s Handicap 2024 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Chairman’s Handicap Tips

Chairman’s Handicap tips favour horses with proven staying ability, previous form at Randwick and those that ran well in a lead-up race like the NE Manion Cup.

Favourites have a solid record in the race, with recent top fancies saluting for the punters being Libran (2016) and The Offer (2014) who both jumped at around $2 in the Chairman’s Handicap odds.

Big Duke ($2.45 in 2017) was the last favourite in Chairman’s Handicap betting to salute for the punters.

Tipping the favourite and backing the NE Manion Cup winner are top Chairman’s Stakes betting tips historically speaking.

2024 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2024 best bets will be detailed below before the race takes place on the first Saturday of April so bookmark this page for the stayers to back and sack this autumn.

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

Open race and have landed on Circle Of Fire, an import from the Maher stable who has firmed into favouritism but still at a backable price. Third-up and fit now off back-to-back fourths with plenty more weight in easier grade. Last time out was just out of the money behind the three-year-old gun Wymark who runs one of the top elects in the ATC Derby on Saturday’s card. Circle Of Fire had 60.5kg that run at Rosehill in a BM78 and drops right back to 53kg in the Chairman’s. Dylan Gibbons is on fire in the saddle having won the Tancred in an upset last weekend. Right form lines. Might have only winning form up to a mile, but don’t let that deter you looking at some of his runs over much further before coming down under.

Chairman’s Handicap Results

Proven Sydney stayers coming out of the NE Manion at Rosehill sitting in the top half of betting have dominated the Chairman’s Handicap race results in recent years.

Chairman’s Handicap winners of note from the past decade include Libran (2016), The Offer (2014), Jessicabeel (2010), and No Wine No Song (2007-08).

Nerve Not Verve (2022) was the last Chairman’s Handicap winning mare.

Past Chairman’s Handicap Winners

Recent Chairman’s Quality Handicap winners and place-getters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.