Heading into October, the best betting bookmaker offers in the U.K for international horse racing start kicking into high gear with the start of the Australian horse racing season. That’s when many of the nation’s top owners, trainers, jockeys and horses start eyeing the country’s most lucrative racing prizes, including the WS Cox Plate, the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup. Even racing fans and punters get into high gear, looking for bookmaker offers from top online bookmakers. With free bets being some of the best betting offers, punters have a chance to score without taking a risk.
About the Epsom Handicap
Along the way to the big three races mentioned above, there are other lucrative prizes to be taken down. For Australia’s best milers and gallopers, the Epsom Handicap in one of two elite races carrying the best horse racing offers at Randwick during the Sydney racing season, the other being the Doncaster Handicap, which is run during the summer. The prestige of the Epsom Stakes received a significant boost last year when Australia’s superstar racing mare Winx took the Epsom on the way to winning the WS Cox Plate (G1). Let’s look into the future and see how the Epsom Stakes is taking shape.
The Epsom Handicap is a Group 1 event for open company. The race is scheduled to be run on October 1, 2016 as part of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. The race carries a purse of AUS$1,000,000 with the winner’s share set at approximately AUS$600,000. The race will be run at 1600 metres (one-mile) on turf for thoroughbreds of all ages with weights assigned based on past performances.
The Epsom Handicap Contenders
With nominations and barrier draws not scheduled for another couple of weeks, let’s take a look at the current rumblings from around the industry to see which equine stars might be in line to make the running.
Happy Clapper – After an engagement in the AUS$175,000 Group 2 Tramway Stakes (1400m), this 6-year old gelding will attempt to win the first Group 1 of his career. Last season, he finished a tough second to Winx in the Doncaster Handicap and returned a week later to run third behind the classy Lucia Valentina in the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1).
Dibayani – It’s not often that a maiden will get mentioned as a contender for a Group 1 event, but Dibayani has shown he can compete at this level based on his second last year to Winx in the Precise Air Chipping Norton (G1). He started this season off with a 2nd in the Aurie’s Star Hcp (G3) at Flemington three weeks back.
Le Romain – This one stamped himself as a rising star when he ran off with a big win in last year’s Girvan Waugh Randwick Guineas (G1). After prepping with a nice second in the Bob Ingham Show County Qlty (G3) this past weekend, this 4-year old gelding should be set for his best by the time the Epsom is ready to be run.
Tsaritsa – Another from the powerful stable of trainer Chris Waller, this 4-year old filly signaled her class last racing season with a good run for the win in the Mirvac Queensland Guineas (G2). Waller has this filly on target for the Theo Marks Stakes before stepping up in class for the Epsom.
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