When the inside and outside gates were left during Tuesday's draw for the $1 million mile, Brenton Avdulla and Jason Attard were ready to do a deal for where they would start in the Epsom on Saturday.

Avdulla, unusually, wanted to jump from the outside on Happy Clapper and Attard wanted gate one to get the easiest possible run.

But it didn't work out how they wanted. The Attard-trained Sons Of John ended up in gate 13, leaving Avdulla to navigate Happy Clapper from the inside alley.

"We were sitting there and talking about it as the draw went on and I said to him, 'I really want one',"  Attard said. "Brenton wanted to draw wide, so he would have been happy to take 13 and when the two of them were left we just looked at each other and laughed.

"I was willing one to come out when [Sons Of John's] name was called, but 13 isn't that unlucky is it?"

Sons Of John is a $13 chance in the Epsom after winning the Bill Ritchie Handicap last start. He ran third behind Winx from gate 15 in the Epsom last year, so Attard put a positive on a negative saying, "it is two better than last year".

"We have Glen Boss, so I'll leave it up to him to find the right run with him. He has had a similar preparation last year and I think he is going as well," Attard said.

"I think they will go hard and he could get in somewhere and run a great race."

Avdulla has won the Epsom from gate 16 on Secret Admirer in 2011, now he will have to do it from one with Happy Clapper.

"I said before the draw I wanted a wider gate but that didn't happen," Avdulla said. "I'm going to be back on the fence [on Happy Clapper] and looking to take the right runs from the 800m.

"If he gets the breaks he will be in the finish because he is going to do nothing in the first half of the race from that draw."

Godolphin's Hauraki is the Epsom favourite at $5.50 with Ladbrokes but more than half the field are at $12 or under in a wider open contest.

Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Fabrizio has been well-supported into $8.50 as he looks the likely leader, unopposed.

Chris Waller will look for a fourth consecutive Epsom and has four runners – Theo Marks Stakes winner Mackintosh, McCreery, Vanbrugh and Torgersen.

He will have the favourites for the other two group 1s with talented filly Omei Sword odds-on for the Flight Stakes, while emerging stayer Antonio Giuseppe heading Ladbrokes betting at $4.60 after winning his past four on end.

The premier stable has six runners in the Metropolitan with Newcastle Cup winner Sacred Master also well fancied at $6.

Epsom

1 PALENTINO (9) Mark Zahra 57 $6

2 HAURAKI (10) James McDonald 56 $5.50

3 LE ROMAIN (3) Hugh Bowman 55.5 $12

4 HAPPY CLAPPER (1) Brenton Avdulla 55 $7.50

5 MIGHTY LUCKY (12) Chris O'Brien 54.5 $41

6 DIBAYANI (11) Damian Lane54 $31

7 SONS OF JOHN (13) Glen Boss 53 $13

8 MACKINTOSH (2) Tommy Berry 52 $11

9 MCCREERY (4) Kerrin McEvoy 51.5 $6.50

10 HEAVENS ABOVE (8) Corey Brown 51 $16

11 VANBRUGH (7) Craig Newitt 51 $18

12 TORGERSEN (5) Kathy O'Hara 50 $21

13 FABRIZIO (6) Johan Victoire 50 $8.50

Metropolitan

1 WHO SHOT THEBARMAN (8) Hugh Bowman 57 $11

2 STORM THE STARS (4) Brenton Avdulla 55.5 $11

3 GRAND MARSHAL (1) Craig Williams 54.5 $21

4 MAGIC HURRICANE (3) James McDonald 54.5 $10

5 SIR JOHN HAWKWOOD (6) Blake Spriggs 54 $5.50

6 JUNOOB (10) Craig Newitt 53.5 $15

7 SACRED MASTER (12) Tommy Berry 53 $6

8 ALLERGIC (2) Michael Dee 51.5 $8

9 SENSE OF OCCASION (13) Corey Brown 51 $19

10 AMEXED (11) Johan Victoire 51 $71

11 DEE I CEE (7) Kerrin McEvoy 51 $17

12 ANTONIO GIUSEPPE (5) Glen Boss 51 $4.60

13 QUARTERMASTER (9) – 51 $301

Market courtesy Ladbrokes