Happy Clapper’s Epsom Handicap assignment set

Tom Walter - Monday September 18

Epsom Handicap favourite Happy Clapper is set to run as the default topweight in Saturday week's feature mile at Randwick.

Advertisement
Happy Clapper. Photo: Steve Hart

Black Heart Bart (58kg), Le Romain (58kg), Humidor (58kg), and Vega Magic (57kg) were all handicapped above Happy Clapper (56.5kg) at the release of weights on Tuesday however with that quartet not running, Pat Webster's seven-year-old gelding will be elevated to 57kg in his pursuit for an elusive Group I.

With prizemoney of more than $2.4 million, Happy Clapper is within the top 100 of millionaire horses in Australia despite still being a maiden at the elite level.

His career earnings (from only 27 starts) exceed that of Melbourne Cup winners Brew and Vintage Crop, as well as modern time stars like Desert War, Spinning Hill, Starcraft, Excellerator, General Nediym, and Stratum.

The most weight Happy Clapper will have to concede in this year's Epsom Handicap will be 9kg, with a base weight of 48kg allocated to three-year-olds.

Other notable Epsom Handicap contenders include Sense Of Occasion (56kg), Tosen Stardom (55kg), Foxplay (54kg), Hey Doc (53.5kg), I Am Star (52kg), Heavens Above (51.5kg), Invincible Gem (52kg), and Egg Tart (50.5kg).

Click here to view the weights for the $1 million Epsom Handicap (1600m).

Advertisment
More Reading...
Melbourne Cup on Radar for Sons and Lovers
Joseph O’Brien knows what it takes to win a Melbourne Cup and that was mentioned as a possible goal for progressive young stayer Sons and Lovers, who won the Group III Ballyroan Stakes (1m4f) at Leopardstown overnight.
Breeding To Win – Crystal Ball – New Season 3YOs to Follow
Who are we highlighting this week? - Analysis of the G1 winning 3YO’s for last season has made us realise how many horses on this list took giant strides from two to three, so we are looking into the crystal ball to find some juveniles we believe could end this season as G1 performers if not G1 winners.
Sires With Winners - Thursday August 7
Here is the full list of 36 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Zoustar Entering the Zenith
The dictionary tells us Zenith is an astronomical term —describing the highest point in an arc travelled by a star, planet or another celestial body- and in the case of this story it’s planet Zoustar!
Racing’s Night of Champions August 28
45 of the top horses in Australia will be recognised for outstanding performances during the 2024/2025 racing season at Racing’s Night of Champions.
Breeders Paradise - Inglis Digital August (early) Online
An abundance of high-quality broodmares – many in foal to some of the hottest young stallions in the Southern Hemisphere – and broodmare prospects headline a “breeders’ paradise’’ in the Inglis Digital August (Early) Online Sale.
One to Watch – Geelong
Team Hawkes were the guiding force behind the racing career of Group I ATC Doncaster Mile winner Brutal and have also prepared his first Group I winner as a sire in Nepotism and they unleashed a debut winner by him at Geelong on Friday.
First Godolphin Winner for Maher
Champion trainer Ciaron Maher saddled his first winner for Godolphin at Kembla on Thursday and he did it with a blue-blood colt by Too Darn Hot (GB).
Above the Clouds Wins $100,000 Polytrack Championship
It proved to be a long but fruitful day for Kelly Myers on Friday, with the now Central Districts-based hoop riding home Above The Clouds to win the $100,000 TAB Polytrack Championship (2000m) at Cambridge for local trainer Ralph Manning.
Wootton Bassett Set to Blast Out of Winter
Many people may have anticipated Wootton Bassett (GB) would have been our Champion Australian First Season Sire last season and while that didn’t quite eventuate, he did finish the season with a wealth of horses holding spring potential and several were in action at the trials this morning.