ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2025

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

The latest edition of the Chairman’s Handicap ran on Saturday April 5, 2025 at Randwick on Day 1 of The Championships as a final lead-up to the following Saturday’s Sydney Cup and was won in style by Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott’s well-backed mare Alalcance ($2.70F). 

2025 Chairman’s Handicap Results

The complete ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2025 Results and race finishing order will be available right here once the race is run and won on Saturday April 5, 2025.

2025 Chairman’s Quality winner Alalcance. Photo: Bradley Photos.

• 1st: #3 Alalcance
• 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.

2025 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Odds

Betting on the Chairman’s Handicap 2025 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.

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.

2024 Chairman’s Quality / Sydney Cup double winner Circle Of Fire. 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 placegetters have come out of the Chairman’s Handicap in recent year. Recent Chairman’s Handicap – Sydney Cup double winners include Henderson Bay (2002), No Wine No Song (2008), Jessicabeel (2010), The Offer (2014), and most recently Circle Of Fire (2024). 

ATC Chairman’s Handicap Race Info

• Date: Saturday April 5, 2025
• 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) and Alalcance ($2.70 in 2025) are the latest Chairman’s Handicap favourites 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.

Alalcance (2025) was the last runner to complete the NE Manion Cup – Chairman’s Quality double. 

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.

2025 Chairman’s Handicap Field

The official ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2025 final field and barriers are set to be released by Racing NSW on the Wednesday of race week and will be announced 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.

2025 Chairman’s Handicap Nominations

The early Chairman’s Quality 2025 nominations close the Monday leading-up to Doncaster Mile Day and will be available in full below once released.

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 Alalcance (2025), 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).

In 2024 the Chairman’s Quality winner Circle Of Fire won the Sydney Cup at his next start becoming the ninth horse to complete the double. 

2025 Chairman’s Handicap Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Chairman’s Handicap 2025 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.

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

2025 ATC Chairman’s Handicap Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive ATC Chairman’s Handicap 2025 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.

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.

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 Circle Of Fire (2024), Libran (2016), The Offer (2014), Jessicabeel (2010), and No Wine No Song (2007-08).

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

Past Chairman’s Handicap Winners

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

FAQ

Who won the 2025 Chairman’s Handicap?

The 2025 Chairman’s Handicap was won by five-year-old Mastercraftsman mare Alalcance at $2.70 favouritism for trainers Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott with jockey Tim Clark aboard on 56.5kg from barrier 4 to win by 2.64 lengths in a time of 2:43.98.

When is the Chairman’s Handicap 2025?

What is the prize money for the Chairman’s Handicap 2025?

$300,000

Where is the Chairman’s Handicap 2025?

Randwick Racecourse, Alison Rd, Randwick NSW 2031.