Royal Patronage draw poorly in Epsom Handicap
A field of 20 runners plus a sole emergency has been declared for the $1.5 million Group 1 Epsom Handicap at Randwick on Saturday.
A field of 20 runners plus a sole emergency has been declared for the $1.5 million Group 1 Epsom Handicap at Randwick on Saturday.
Saturday marks the 159th running of the time-honoured Randwick handicap run over the famed 1600m course.
Hall of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse will be chasing a record eight win in the race when she and her training partner Adrian Bott saddle up a team of two runners, Tramway Stakes winner Royal Patronage and last year’s Australian Derby winner Major Beel.
In recent year Australia’s premier Group 1 trainer Chris Waller has dominated the race, winning it five times in the past 12 years and in 2024 he has seven acceptors – Kovalica, last year’s winner Rediener, Democracy Manifest, Chrysaor, Molly Bloom, Bill Ritchie winner McHale, and last Saturday’s Rosehill winner Firestorm.
Victoria’s premier trainer Ciaron Maher has multiple runners with Detonator Jack, Nugget and Berkshire Shadow while Maher’s former Sydney stable manager, Annabel Neasham and her training partner Rob Archibald also has multiple runners with topweight My Oberon and the last horse to make the field, Galeron.
Rounding out the notable runners is Tom Kitten, trained by last Saturday’s Group 1 Golden Rose winning trainer James Cummings while fellow Warwick Farm trainer Joe Pride will chase victory for the fourth time in a Group 1 Randwick mile with Ceolwulf.
The field for the Epsom Handicap is;
No – Horse – Trainer – Jockey – Barrier – Weight
1 – MY OBERON – Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald – Nash Rawiller – 21 – 56.5kg
2 – ROYAL PATRONAGE – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Tim Clark – 17 – 56kg
3 – DETONATOR JACK – Ciaron Maher – Jason Collett – 16 – 56kg
4 – KOVALICA – Chris Waller – James McDonald – 1 – 55.5kg
5 – REDIENER – Chris Waller – Josh Parr – 12 – 55.5kg
6 – DEMOCRACY MANIFEST – Chris Waller – Kerrin McEvoy – 10 – 55kg
7 – CEOLWULF – Joseph Pride – Chad Schofield – 14 – 54kg
8 – NUGGET – Ciaron Maher – Dylan Gibbons – 11 – 54kg
9 – TOM KITTEN – James Cummings – Tommy Berry – 19 – 54kg
10 – BERKSHIRE SHADOW – Ciaron Maher – Ash Morgan – 8 – 53kg
11 – LOCH EAGLE – Kris Lees – Jay Ford – 18 – 52.5kg
12 – MAJOR BEEL – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Winona Costin – 9 – 51.5kg
13 – CHRYSAOR – Chris Waller – Craig Williams – 5 – 51.5kg
14 – MOLLY BLOOM – Chris Waller – Zac Lloyd (a) – 3 – 50.5kg
15 – ARCTIC GLAMOUR – Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou – Andrew Adkins – 6 – 50kg
16 – MCHALE – Chris Waller – Rachel King – 15 – 50kg
17 – AUSBRED FLIRT – Brad Widdup – TBA – 2 – 50kg
18 – KINTYRE – Gary Portelli – Cejay Graham – 7 – 50kg
19 – FIRESTORM – Chris Waller – TBA – 13 – 50kg
20 – GALERON – Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald – Alysha Collett – 4 – 50kg
21 emg – FLOATING – Matthew Smith – Reece Jones – 20 – 50kg
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Sportbet’s post barrier draw betting market;
1 – MY OBERON – $11
2 – ROYAL PATRONAGE – $4.60 favourite
3 – DETONATOR JACK – $15
4 – KOVALICA – Chris Waller – $6
5 – REDIENER – Chris Waller – $34
6 – DEMOCRACY MANIFEST – $13
7 – CEOLWULF – $6.50
8 – NUGGET – $26
9 – TOM KITTEN – $11
10 – BERKSHIRE SHADOW – $15
11 – LOCH EAGLE – $126
12 – MAJOR BEEL – $26
13 – CHRYSAOR – $41
14 – MOLLY BLOOM – $126
15 – ARCTIC GLAMOUR – $26
16 – MCHALE – $26
17 – AUSBRED FLIRT – $61
18 – KINTYRE – $41
19 – FIRESTORM – $61
20 – GALERON – $201
21 emg – FLOATING – $201
That's one way to make your Australian debut ðŸ‘
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) September 7, 2024
The American Royal Patronage wins the G2 Tramway at Randwick first up, and it's a double to the @clarkyhk - @GaiWaterhouse1 combo! pic.twitter.com/cXujWJ0rlj
Ceolwulf lets down powerfully under a smart @mcacajamez ride to win second-up for @PrideRacing 👊 pic.twitter.com/Iv1oOrVFjP
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 31, 2024
The kitten roars! ðŸ±
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 17, 2024
Spring Champion Stakes winner Tom Kitten is back in the winner's circle at Rosehill, as spring beckons!@mcacajamez@JamesCummings88@godolphinpic.twitter.com/WUWN1xzazO
A total thriller in the G3 Bill Ritchie Handicap, with the outsider Mchale victorious by the narrowest of margins for @RachelK11 and @cwallerracing! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/7jlz2ZWOVt
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) September 21, 2024
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
The Randwick track was rated a soft (5) at acceptance time. The rail will be in the 3-metre
The Bureau Of Meteorology forecast for Sydney is.
Tuesday – Mostly sunny. 22.
Wednesday – Partly cloudy. 21.
Thursday – Partly cloudy. 21.
Friday – Mostly sunny. 23.
Saturday – Partly cloudy. 28.
CLICK HERE to get the fields and free formguide for the Randwick meeting on Saturday.
Originally published as Royal Patronage draw poorly in Epsom Handicap
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