There’s something about horse races run under handicap conditions that has always struck at the heart of the Australian public and our identity.
Levelling the playing field so everyone, in theory, has an equal chance.
The Doncaster Handicap is the pinnacle middle-distance handicap race on the Australian racing calendar, and it is always a sensational betting race for the punters.
First run in 1866, the Group 1 event takes place at Royal Randwick over 1600m and has been won by some of our best horses, including Wakeful (1901), Tobin Bronze (1967), Super Impose (1990,91) and, of course, the greatest of all, Winx (2016).
A lot of the time, the cream rises to the top, but this is what makes the race fascinating to so many; sometimes, the weight is simply too much.
The handicap conditions of the race allow for the horse that has been working its way through the grades to gain a start with a light weight.
There have been many astute trainers over the 150+ years of the race to beat the handicapper, getting their horse into the Doncaster on the minimum and upsetting the more well-credentialed horses.
And many punters have been just as clever in their assessment.
A few examples of why it is important to consider weight OVER talent in the Doncaster Handicap.
Over (51.5kg) – 2000 – SP 8-1
The New Zealand mare Sunline had entered the Australian racing scene with immediate impact, winning her first eight starts, including the Group 1 Flight Stakes.
She benefited from the handicap conditions of the Doncaster when winning the race as a filly in 1999, carrying 52kg, but after claiming her first (of two) Cox Plate wins during the spring of 1999, they didn’t miss her the second time around.
Many still believed the champion mare could carry 57.5kg to victory and she started 11-4 ($2.75) in 2000.
If you ever wanted an example of why weight matters, this is the race to watch.
Darren Gauci took his three-year-old colt Over, carrying 51.5kg, right up to eyeball Sunline at the 300m as they pulled away from the rest of the field.
The will and determination of Sunline was on full display, but try as she may, the weight was just too much on the day.
Soho Square (47.5kg) – 1992 – SP 30-1
Another dual winner of the race was the champion miler Super Impose who won the race in consecutive years in 1990 and 1991.
Incredibly, he also won Victoria’s premier 1600m handicap race, The Epsom, in those same years.
He’d won the Doncaster at $20-1 in 1990, $10-1 in 1991 and it wasn’t until he was shooting for his third win in a row that the punters jumped aboard as he started $5-1 in 1992 despite the enormous 62.5kg he was being asked to carry.
Enter 16-year-old apprentice Paddy Payne and his three-year-old gelding Soho Square who had a weight swing of 15kg on the champion Super Impose.
Row Of Waves (51kg) – 1985 – SP 100-1
Three-year-olds have a fantastic record in the Doncaster Handicap and the punters thought they had it worked out in the 1985 edition of the race.
The Bob Thomsen-trained Avon Angel started even money that day with 51.5kg but it was the six-year-old Row Of Waves, with half a kilo less than the favourite, that caused a massive upset at triple figure odds.
Les Bridge trained Row Of Waves to victory in that race and almost four decades later he won the race again with Celestial Legend in 2024 who carried 49kg.
He’s been at the Randwick stables for 60 years and it’s safe to say he knows how to beat the handicapper.
Mr Brightside (50.5kg) – 2022 – SP 20-1
Seems crazy that the ultra-consistent, and popular, Mr Brightside would start at such a big price over a mile at Randwick but that’s what happened in 2022.
In defence of punters, Mr B’s last win was in the Seymour Cup, and he was yet to win at Group 1 level.
Of course, he has since gone on to win nine times at the top level and sits third on the list of top prize money earners in Australian racing history.