2023 Epsom Handicap Winner Rediener Wins for Waller & O’Hara

[Wandering Eyes]

Jockey Kathy O’Hara enjoyed her third career Group 1 lunging late in a thrilling 2023 Epsom Handicap result to secure the mile classic aboard the in-form Chris Waller-trained Rediener.

2023 Epsom Handicap winner Rediener handed Waller his fifth win in the mile classic. Photo: Steve Hart.

Four-year-old Rediener went around as an underrated $9.50 hope in this year’s Group 1 $1.5 million Epsom Handicap (1600m) despite a last start win fresh in the Group 3 Bill Ritchie Handicap (1400m) on September 16.

He franked that form with a lovely on-speed run in the Royal Randwick feature on Saturday getting to the line just in time to hold out his fast-finishing stablemate Kovalica ($10).

“When he (Rediener) won in Queensland we set him for this race, but setting horses for races is not easy,” Waller told Sky Thoroughbred Central post-victory.

“But to see him win like he did first-up it gave us a little bit of hope and the barrier draw (gate 2) was obviously a plus.”

O’Hara had Rediener sitting in a prime position before making her move on the straight to close inside the final 50m.

Golden Mile looked like he was going to lead from barrier to box off a gun ride by Blake Shinn with the galloper hitting another gear on the straight before being nudged out right on the line by Waller’s two.

The winter’s Queensland Derby champ Kovalica improved on his first-up run when unplaced in the Theo Marks slashing home wider out late in a good sign as he gets over more ground this spring.

Golden Mile was brave holding for third in the Epsom Handicap trifecta.

Waller was thrilled for O’Hara and equally as happy to take home his fifth Epsom Handicap trophy.

“Very special for Kathy (O’Hara), Charlie’s (Duckworth) wife. It’s great, Kathy is just an amazing toiler. Sydney racing 52 weeks a year she just gives it her best, amazing horse person. Gives you great feedback, she lives on a horse. Charlie is obviously so close to me,” the now 152-time Group 1 winning trainer said.

2023 Epsom Handicap Results 

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	17	REDIENER	Chris Waller	Ms Kathy O’Hara		2	50kg		$9.50
	2	10	KOVALICA (NZ)	Chris Waller	Joao Moreira	0.07L	7	54kg		$10
	3	6	GOLDEN MILE	James Cummings	Blake Shinn	0.23L	17	55kg		$16
	4	18	BARBIE’S FOX	Ben, Will & JD Hayes	Dean Yendall	1.22L	4	50kg		$51
	5	16	DEMOCRACY MANIFEST	Chris Waller	Tyler Schiller	1.28L	1	51.5kg	1.5kg	$9
	6	8	HOPE IN YOUR HEART	Kerry Parker	Craig Williams	1.92L	10	54kg		$7.50EF
	7	1	MY OBERON (IRE)	Annabel Neasham	Chad Schofield	2.01L	15	56kg		$21
	8	3	THE INEVITABLE	John Keys	David Pires	2.63L	8	55.5kg		$9
	9	21e	WILLIAMSBURG	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Andrew Adkins	3.37L	3	50kg		$31
	10	11	NUGGET (GB)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Damien Oliver	4.03L	16	54kg		$7.50EF
	11	12	POUNDING	Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman	Ms Jamie Kah	4.06L	13	54kg		$10
	12	9	DIAMIL (IRE)	John O’Shea	Jason Collett	4.36L	5	54kg		$91
	13	5	CONVERGE	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	4.75L	9	55kg		$11
	14	7	KIRWAN’S LANE (NZ)	John O’Shea	Tom Sherry	5.83L	11	54.5kg		$51
	15	13	COMMUNIST	Michael Freedman	Dylan Gibbons (a)	6.28L	6	53.5kg		$19
	16	22e	POLITICAL DEBATE	Chris Waller	Ms Rachel King	6.33L	18	50kg		$201
	17	15	MADAME POMMERY	Chris Waller	Kerrin McEvoy	7.22L	14	51.5kg		$41
	18	4	GOING GLOBAL (IRE)	Chris Waller	James McDonald	7.41L	12	55kg (cd 55.5kg)		$31
		2	PERICLES	James Cummings	Nash Rawiller		0
		14	DUKE DE SESSA (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Regan Bayliss		0
		19	WATERFORD (IRE)	Chris Waller	Zac Lloyd (a)		0
		20	OLENTIA	Chris Waller	Jay Ford		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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