The Toorak Handicap is a Group 1 1600 metres Open Handicap that is run at Caulfield Racecourse on the opening day of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. The race has had several high-profile winners, with I’M THUNDERSTRUCK and MR QUICKIE winning in the last two years.
The 2022 Toorak Handicap will be run on Saturday 8th October with total prize money of $1,000,000.
Famous Toorak Handicap Winners
There have been many high-profile Toorak Handicap winners in its history, with TOBIN BRONZE, GALILEE and GUNSYND all on the honours board, and SOLZHENITSYN and UMRUM celebrating a back-to-back win this century.
Trainer Darren Weir made the race his own during the middle part of the last decade, winning four out of five Toorak Handicaps with all four winners well supported in the betting. Recently retired jockeys Jim Cassidy (4 wins) and Glen Boss (3 wins) are the most successful hoops in modern times, with Damian Lane the best of the current crop, riding back-to-back winners in 2017-18.
Toorak Handicap Tips
Run on the first day of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, the Toorak Handicap can be a tough race for punters to assess. While some big-name horses may run in the race, they are generally building towards the more decadent races of the Spring Racing Carnival and may not be close to their best form or fitness.
This is illustrated in the race’s recent results. I’M THUNDERSTRUCK ($3.20) won the race as a favourite in 2021, while MR QUICKIE ($21) in 2020 and FIERCE IMPACT ($18) in 2019 were both upset winners.
The Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes run a few weeks earlier has provided a number of Toorak Handicap winners in recent years and is by far the best form race. Male horses have dominated, winning recent editions of the Toorak Handicap with the star mare MORE JOYOUS (2010), the last female to salute.
The weight carried by recent winners is also interesting. Toorak Handicap 2021 winner I’M THUNDERSTRUCK won with a postage stamp weight of 52kgs while MR QUICKIE carried 59kgs to victory in 2020. The winning barriers also make for interesting reading. FIERCE IMPACT (barrier 15 in 2019), LAND OF PLENTY (barrier 18 in 2018) and TOSEN STARDOM (barrier 16 in 2017) all overcame wide gates to win, further illustrating the difficulties in assessing this race!
2022 Toorak Handicap Predictions & Odds
The Palmerbet Blog is a great place to find free horse racing tips breaking news and information about the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival for 2022. It is an excellent place to source racing betting odds, and the all-important Toorak Handicap Betting tips.
Download the Palmerbet app via the app store and start betting today.
