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The Gold Rush – run in 2023 as the Damien Oliver Gold Rush – is a recent addition to the Perth Summer Racing Carnival taking place for the first time at Ascot Racecourse in mid-December, 2022.

Following on from Perth’s three Group 1 feature races – the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m), Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) and the Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) – The Gold Rush is also worth $1.5 million but only holds Group 3 status currently.

The inaugural The Gold Rush winner, The Astrologist, came via a lead-up eighth in the Winterbottom Stakes and scored an upset at $19 odds.

It was a fairy tale The Gold Rush result in 2023 for the second edition with retiring super hoop Damien Oliver producing a 10/10 ride to score victory in his final feature race ride aboard Munhamek.

Perth Racing is aiming at getting the weight-for-age showdown to grow to Group 1 status over the years with the race set to attract the best local and interstate talent of the season.

Open to horses aged three and above, The Gold Rush field faces off over 1400m.

The race name, The Gold Rush, was chosen by Racing and Wagering Western Australia from thousands of suggestions by readers of The West Australian to reflect WA’s rich history of gold discovery in the 1800s.

The 2022 The Gold Rush form was franked with the winner, The Astrologist, later sent overseas where he finished runner-up in Dubai’s Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint (1200m) in March of 2023.

The 2023 The Gold Rush ran for the second time on Saturday December 16th, 2023 at Ascot Racecourse in Perth offering $1.5 million in stakes and was known as the Damien Oliver Gold Rush in honour of retiring Australian champion jockey Damien Oliver who produced an incredible ride aboard Nick Ryan’s veteran eight-year-old Munhamek ($7) to finish up his feature riding career with a win. 

2023 The Gold Rush
Date:	Saturday December 16th, 2023
Track:	Ascot Racecourse
Distance:	1400m
Race Type:	3YO & Upwards – Weight-for-age
Status:	Group 3
Prizemoney:	$1.5 million

2023 The Gold Rush Results

• 1st: #4 Munhamek ($7)
• 2nd: #16 Ripcord
• 3rd: #7 Comfort Me

Retiring G.O.A.T. Damien Oliver won his final ever feature race with a sensational weaving late run aboard the Nick Ryan-trained Group 1 performing veteran Munhamek ($7) to salute by a half-length in The Gold Rush 2023 results.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	4	MUNHAMEK (GB)	Nick Ryan	Damien Oliver		14	59kg		$7
	2	16	RIPCORD	Luke Fernie	Clint Johnston-Porter	0.52L	7	54kg		$6F
	3	7	COMFORT ME	Rhys Radford	Shaun McGruddy	1.17L	3	59kg		$7
	4	3	BUSTLER	Neville Parnham	Steven Parnham	1.98L	12	59kg		$10
	5	5	RED CAN MAN	Steve Wolfe	Paul Harvey	2.06L	6	59kg		$21
	6	2	VALOUR ROAD	Simon A Miller	Chris Parnham	2.55L	13	59kg		$7.50
	7	11	RESORTMAN	Michael Lane	Brad Rawiller	2.76L	8	59kg		$21
	8	12	LAVERROD	Sean & Jake Casey	Craig Williams	2.8L	10	59kg		$26
	9	1	DOM TO SHOOT	Sean & Jake Casey	Jarrad Noske	2.95L	11	59kg		$9
	10	13	MY BELLA MAE	Dion Luciani	Patrick Carbery	3.32L	15	57kg		$61
	11	10	AYRTON (NZ)	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Damian Lane	3.83L	9	59kg		$8.50
	12	15	KARLI’S KARMA	Summer Dickson	Michael Poy	4.68L	4	57kg		$31
	13	8	SAVATOXL	Will Savage	Ms Holly Watson	5.4L	1	59kg		$101
	14	14	BABY PARIS	Colin Webster	Peter Knuckey	7.17L	2	57kg		$17
	15	9	HOT ZED	Lou Luciani	Jason Whiting	7.53L	16	59kg		$41
	16	6	MASSIMO	Chris & Michael Gangemi	Brad Parnham	7.62L	5	59kg		$41
		19e	MAGNIFICENT ANDY	Stephen Miller			0
		18e	SUPER SMINK	Daniel Morton	Craig Williams		0
		17e	LET’S GALAHVANT	Daniel & Ben Pearce			0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 The Gold Rush Betting Odds

The top The Gold Rush odds will be provided below along with links to the markets at Ladbrokes.com.au for you to back your insider The Gold Rush betting tips at the right price this summer.

There was a notable upset for the first edition with The Astrologist winning at The Gold Rush odds of $19.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 THE GOLD RUSH ODDS (Final Field)

2023 The Gold Rush Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 THE GOLD RUSH FORM GUIDE

2023 The Gold Rush Tips

Stay tuned for our insider The Gold Rush 2023 Tips on the $1.5 million Festival of Perth Racing showdown this December.

• To Win: #16 Ripcord ($6.50 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Tipping Ripcord to frank the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) form from a fortnight back with Luke Fernie’s third place-getter out of that down in grade here. The classy Written By three-year-old won the Listed Placid Ark narrowly two back before rounding out the Winterbottom trifecta over six furlongs here. Putting together a nice record, should see out a furlong further without worry, gets a run from a good gate, and is down in weight. Ticking plenty of boxes in a wide open affair.

2023 The Gold Rush Field

The Gold Rush field is filled with some of the better Perth thoroughbreds as well as visiting stayers from the eastern states.

Horses in The Gold Rush field may come via earlier runs in events including the Railway Stakes and Northerly Stakes (formerly the Kingston Town Stakes).

Three-year-old runners in the field may have their final lead-up in the Group 2 W.A. Guineas (1600m) on Railway Stakes Day.

The 2023 Gold Rush field is announced on the Monday of race week and will be published in full below once released by Perth Racing.

The Damien Oliver Gold Rush 2023 final field features a capacity line-up of summer hopefuls led in betting by the second emergency Super Smink with the WA Guineas third placed filly sweating on a start and Group 1 performer out of Victoria Ayrton.

The 2023 The Gold Rush barrier draw took place on Tuesday evening with plenty of the top fancies drawing out wide.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	x31823x231	DOM TO SHOOT	Sean & Jake Casey	Jarrad Noske	14	59kg		114
2	291x45x121	VALOUR ROAD	Simon A Miller	Chris Parnham	16	59kg		113
3	60113×7514	BUSTLER	Neville Parnham	Steven Parnham	15	59kg		111
4	117x128x30	MUNHAMEK (GB)	Nick Ryan	Damien Oliver	17	59kg		102
5	22630×1364	RED CAN MAN	Steve Wolfe	Paul Harvey	8	59kg		107
6	9x7008x446	MASSIMO	Chris & Michael Gangemi	Brad Parnham	7	59kg		102
7	3x5225x337	COMFORT ME	Rhys Radford	Shaun McGruddy	3	59kg		106
8	110x3230x0	SAVATOXL	Will Savage	Ms Holly Watson	1	59kg		104
9	x7156x3716	HOT ZED	Lou Luciani	Jason Whiting	19	59kg		107
10	48x578x176	AYRTON (NZ)	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Damian Lane	11	59kg		104
11	1340x473x8	RESORTMAN	Michael Lane	Brad Rawiller	10	59kg		107
12	3043x0x407	LAVERROD	Sean & Jake Casey	Craig Williams	13	59kg		101
13	1159×52555	MY BELLA MAE	Dion Luciani	Patrick Carbery	18	57kg		99
14	x301x81701	BABY PARIS	Colin Webster	Peter Knuckey	2	57kg		100
15	x11200x610	KARLI’S KARMA	Summer Dickson	Michael Poy	6	57kg		102
16	13×22813	RIPCORD	Luke Fernie	Clint Johnston-Porter	9	54kg		99
17e	9283226131	LET’S GALAHVANT	Daniel & Ben Pearce		4	59kg		98
18e	31211×123	SUPER SMINK	Daniel Morton	Craig Williams	12	52kg		90
19e	211×211442	MAGNIFICENT ANDY	Stephen Miller		5	59kg		93

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 The Gold Rush Nominations

The early The Gold Rush 2023 nominations are taken a couple of months prior to The Gold Rush Day in mid-December and will be provided in full below.

The Damien Oliver Gold Rush 2023 nominations attracted 104 early entries led in all-in betting by last year’s Group 1 Northerly Stakes winner Amelia’s Jewel and Dan Morton’s Group 2 Karrakatta Plate winning filly Super Smink.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Ballot	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	7125x2473x	ABOVE THE PEG	G	5	Simon A Miller		59kg		80
2	248x578x1x	AYRTON (NZ)	G	6	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)		59kg
3	7x00x4700x	BEAU ROSSA	G	6	Will Clarken & Niki O’Shea		59kg
4	x421111x2x	BENJI’S	G	6	Cliff Green		59kg		80
5	125x60113x	BUSTLER	G	4	Neville Parnham		59kg		101
6	x221x5244x	CLEMENCEAU	G	5	Chris & Michael Gangemi		59kg
7	4523x5225x	COMFORT ME	G	7	Rhys Radford		59kg		106
8	24120x330x	CORNER POCKET	G	7	Lindsey Smith		59kg
9	34x126590x	CREATOR	G	7	Chris & Michael Gangemi		59kg		84
10	5x0x59x20x	CUP NIGHT	G	8	Bernie Miller		59kg		102
11	8101x8114x	CURRIMUNDI	G	5	Steve Wolfe		59kg		80
12	53x0x10x7x	DAJRAAN (GB)	H	6	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott		59kg
13	4410x9180x	DEFIANT DIORITE	G	4	Chris Willis		59kg		69
14	945x31823x	DOM TO SHOOT	G	6	Sean & Jake Casey		59kg		103
15	2142x7224x	EM TEE AYE	G	6	Trevor Andrews		59kg		92
16	311168141x	GINGER BAKER	G	6	Vernon Brockman		59kg		95
17	123x87707x	GOD HAS CHOSEN	G	6	Donna Riordan		59kg		102
18	35590x990x	HALATORION	G	6	Roy Rogers		59kg		81
19	000x82685x	HILAL	H	5	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott		59kg
20	9146x7156x	HOT ZED	G	6	Lou Luciani		59kg		103
21	1119x4111x	IKNOWASTAR	G	4	Bjorn Baker		59kg
22	2369x9010x	IRONCLAD (GB)	G	8	Will Clarken & Niki O’Shea		59kg
23	x111101x5x	JIGSAW	G	5	Cindy Alderson		59kg
24	8x12312x5x	JOURNALISM	G	5	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott		59kg
25	45x845221x	LAST OF THE LINE	G	7	Stephen Miller		59kg		104
26	x08x3x907x	LAUDA SION (JPN)	H	7	Chris Waller		59kg
27	04x3043x0x	LAVERROD	G	7	Sean & Jake Casey		59kg		102
28	211x1147x	LENIENCY	G	4	Colin Webster		59kg		75
29	049283226x	LET’S GALAHVANT	G	5	Daniel & Ben Pearce		59kg		90
30	x66445x13x	LORD VLADIVOSTOK (NZ)	G	7	Michael Hickmott		59kg
31	32211x211x	MAGNIFICENT ANDY	G	5	Stephen Miller		59kg		90
32	126552150x	MAN CRUSH	G	4	Luke Fernie		59kg		83
33	3109x7008x	MASSIMO	G	7	Chris & Michael Gangemi		59kg		102
34	181x76x7Nx	MINSK MOMENT	H	5	Chris Waller		59kg
35	23117x128x	MUNHAMEK (GB)	G	8	Nick Ryan		59kg
36	13553x404x	NUGGET (GB)	G	7	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace		59kg
37	1761x5730x	OSIPENKO (NZ)	H	4	Chris Waller		59kg
38	46x2x1132x	PHANTA	G	6	Chris & Michael Gangemi		59kg		101
39	7419x2117x	PLANET CASH	G	4	Hayden Ballantyne		59kg		76
40	x9998x551x	RANTING (NZ)	G	6	Nick Ryan		59kg
41	205x22630x	RED CAN MAN	G	7	Steve Wolfe		59kg		107
42	60x853445x	REGARDSMAREE	G	7	Nick Ryan		59kg
43	11340x473x	RESORTMAN	G	7	Michael Lane		59kg		107
44	0x90x7x14x	RISE OF THE MASSES	H	4	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott		59kg
45	3215x2317x	RIVER RUBICON	G	5	Steve Wolfe		59kg		89
46	x110x3230x	SAVATOXL	G	8	Will Savage		59kg
47	x0x313x13x	SENTIMENTAL HERO	G	6	Michael Grantham		59kg		79
48	0x3113132x	SNOWDOME	H	4	Neville Parnham		59kg		90
49	23628x2x8x	SPEED DREAM	G	6	Roland Piercey		59kg		79
50	x3x160x11x	STAR PATROL	G	5	Clinton McDonald		59kg
51	0x05912x8x	STARTRADE	G	7	Daniel Morton		59kg		104
52	16460x010x	SURF DANCER (IRE)	G	7	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott		59kg
53	21116x274x	TADWEER	G	5	Chris & Michael Gangemi		59kg		83
54	x21140x51x	TAMERLANE	G	6	James Cummings		59kg
55	00x9275x4x	THE INFERNO	G	7	Cliff Brown		59kg
56	x573747x3x	TITAN BLINDERS	G	8	Chris & Michael Gangemi		59kg		96
57	2243019x0x	TOP OF THE POPS	G	4	Daniel Morton		59kg		78
58	11x42x7x2x	TRIPLE MISSILE	G	6	Lindsey Smith		59kg
59	20x1316x0x	TRIX OF THE TRADE	G	5	Colin Webster		59kg		106
60	12x79x432x	TUVALU	G	6	Lindsey Smith		59kg
61	230x23212x	UPPER LIMITS	G	4	Jeremy Easthope		59kg		78
62	3291x45x1x	VALOUR ROAD	G	8	Simon A Miller		59kg		111
63	412111122x	VAST ART	G	4	Darren McAuliffe		59kg		85
64	10x1760x5x	VILANA	H	5	James Cummings		59kg
65	416x41112x	WATEGOS	G	5	Bjorn Baker		59kg
66	122113x05x	WEAPONSON	G	7	Daniel Morton		59kg		92
67	9x678x210x	WRITTEN MATTER	G	6	Chris & Michael Gangemi		59kg		78
68	3261x2133x	ADMIRATION EXPRESS	M	4	Jason Miller		57kg		86
69	x12111111x	ALSEPHINA	M	5	Grant & Alana Williams		57kg		92
70	11x12x119x	AMELIA’S JEWEL	M	4	Simon A Miller		57kg
71	12x301x81x	BABY PARIS	M	4	Colin Webster		57kg		99
72	3899464x3x	CHAIN OF LIGHTNING	M	5	Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman		57kg
73	42112111x	DUCHESS OF GOSSIP	M	4	Dion Luciani		57kg		76
74	x6117x217x	ESPIONA	M	5	Chris Waller		57kg
75	990x08619x	FLEUR DELACOUR	M	4	Chris Willis		57kg		58
76	4x1336541x	FLYING MISSILE	M	5	Neville Parnham		57kg		88
77	213208x11x	GODDESS OF GIVING	M	4	Lou Luciani		57kg		75
78	3x11200x6x	KARLI’S KARMA	M	6	Summer Dickson		57kg		95
79	12x74x421x	LIFE LESSONS (NZ)	M	5	Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman		57kg
80	19x1159x5x	MY BELLA MAE	M	4	Dion Luciani		57kg		94
81	4x11x1580x	OLENTIA	M	4	Chris Waller		57kg
82	111x1344x	REAR ADMIRAL	M	4	Sean & Jake Casey		57kg		71
83	3410x52x5x	ROOTS	M	5	Chris Waller		57kg
84	1x1131216x	RUSTY DREAMS	M	4	Michael Lane		57kg		77
85	21x0180x1x	SEARCHIN’ ROC’S	M	5	Jim Taylor		57kg		96
86	x141211x2x	THE VELVET QUEEN	M	5	Darren McAuliffe		57kg		97
87	x114x21x7x	A LOT OF GOOD MEN	C	3	Trevor Andrews		54kg		75
88	6x1x	ALMIGHTY CLASS	G	3	Mitchell Pateman		54kg		74
89	2231x	ARCADIA KNIGHT	G	3	Takahide Ikenushi		54kg
90	1x	BEST MOOD	C	3	Michael Grantham		54kg		60
91	12x	BLAZING HARRY	G	3	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)		54kg
92	1x61x	COSMIC CRUSADER (NZ)	G	3	Donna Riordan		54kg		69
93	181x	HANCHI	G	3	Sean & Jake Casey		54kg		70
94	4x21x	IN GOOD ORDER	G	3	Daniel Morton		54kg		62
95	1x	KERMIT’S LUCK	G	3	Luke Fernie		54kg		62
96	26x8x142x	MEXICO	C	3	Michael Freedman		54kg
97		NO BRAINER	G	3	Daniel Morton		54kg
98	115x	PLEASURE CRUISE	G	3	Takahide Ikenushi		54kg		66
99	13x22x	RIPCORD	G	3	Luke Fernie		54kg		78
100		VENTURO	C	3	Daniel Morton		54kg
101	243x1x	ZIPAWAY	G	3	Neville Parnham		54kg		66
102	528x	KRATESIS	F	3	Daniel Morton		52kg		56
103		RIGHT TO SILENCE	F	3	Chris Willis		52kg
104	31211x	SUPER SMINK	F	3	Daniel Morton		52kg		86

The Gold Rush History

The Gold Rush history will be updated as the race grows in stature over the coming years following on from the inaugural running in 2022.

The first The Gold Rush was won by interstate raider The Astrologist ridden to victory as a $19 outsider in betting by star local jockey William Pike.

The second The Gold Rush winner was also trained outside of Perth with Nick Ryan’s Victorian visitor Munhamek ($7) saluting off a brilliant ride by retiring champion jockey Damien Oliver in 2023.

The Gold Rush Winners

The table below shows the winners, place-getters and winning times of The Gold Rush since the inaugural running in 2022.

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2023 The Gold Rush	1st	Munhamek	1 minute 22.75 seconds
	2nd	Ripcord
	3rd	Comfort Me
2022 The Gold Rush	1st	The Astrologist	1 minute 22.44 seconds
	2nd	Kissonallforcheeks
	3rd	Comfort Me