The Gold Rush 2023

The Gold Rush is a $1.5 million feature race held in Western Australia in December each summer

The Gold Rush is a Perth Summer Racing Carnival feature race held in December for the first time in 2022.

Following the triple shot of Group 1 races run at Ascot in WA over the spring – summer season the action will continue with The Gold Rush offering $1.5 million in stakes.

Run over 1400m the race will begin as a Group 3 race despite its lucrative prize money on offer, and the aim is for it to gradually increase in prestige and class over the years.

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

The Gold Rush winner is also likely to chase a slot in the following year’s $4 million The Quokka back in Perth.

The second edition of the event ran as the Damien Oliver Gold Rush in honour of retiring star Australian hoop Damien Oliver who won the race in a fairy tale result off a sensational ride aboard the Nick Ryan-trained Victorian visitor Munhamek ($7).

The second edition of $1.5 million The Gold Rush ran on Saturday December 16, 2023 at Ascot Racecourse in Perth and was won in a 10/10 performance by retiring super jockey Damien Oliver on eight-year-old Flemington galloper Munhamek ($7).

2023 The Gold Rush Results

The full The Gold Rush 2023 Results & Finishing Order on the $1.5 million showdown will be available below after the Group 3 is run and won on Saturday December 16, 2023.

• 1st: #4 Munhamek
• 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.

2023 The Gold Rush Odds

The season’s top The Gold Rush 2023 odds and Perth Group race betting market links will be provided below so stay tuned for access to the best summer prices.

The Gold Rush Race Info

• Date: Saturday December 16, 2023
• Track: Ascot Racecourse
• Distance: 1400m
• Conditions: Weight-for-age; 3YOs & Upwards
• Status: Group 3
• Prize Money: $1.5 million
• First Run: 2022

The Gold Rush Betting

The Gold Rush betting is dominated by in-form sprinters and middle-distance gallopers coming off big runs in the Perth Group 1 races earlier in the season.

Runners that perform well over the spring are installed at shorter The Gold Rush odds including in races including Sydney’s $1 million The Hunter (1300m) and $1 million The Gong (1600m).

There was a blowout result in the first edition of the race with The Astrologist winning at The Gold Rush odds of $19.

The Gold Rush Tips

Key The Gold Rush tips include looking for locally-trained Perth gallopers, proven weight-for-age stars and Group 1 runners down in grade for the lucrative feature race.

Locally horses that run well in the earlier Perth summer features including any three-year-olds out of the Group 3 WA Guineas (1600m) make a good The Gold Rush betting tip.

The inaugural The Gold Rush winner was The Astrologist who improved on a lead-up eighth in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) at the track, so looking at the Winterbottom graduates is another top tip.

2023 The Gold Rush Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive The Gold Rush 2023 betting tips and exotic summer racing selections will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned for the Perth locals and interstate raiders to get behind this season.

• 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.

The Gold Rush Field

The Gold Rush race field attracts a quality line-up of both local and visiting weight-for-age horses eyeing the $1.5 million in stakes on offer in the new Perth event.

Key lead-up races locally for runners eyeing a spot in The Gold Rush field include the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) and the Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) – formerly known as the Kingston Town Stakes.

The official The Gold Rush field of final acceptances is announced the Monday of race week following on from the early nominations in October.

2023 The Gold Rush Field

The official The Gold Rush 2023 Final Field is announced by Perth Racing the Monday leading-up to the race and will be available in full below as soon as released so stay tuned to see what gallopers make the starting line-up in the latest edition of the WFA event.

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.

2023 The Gold Rush Nominations

The early The Gold Rush 2023 nominations are taken around two months before The Gold Rush Day in mid-December, the full entries to be released 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.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

The Gold Rush Form Guide

The Gold Rush form guide details all the crucial information for punters like the jockeys, trainers, barriers and lead-up runs of the horses in the field.

2023 The Gold Rush Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive The Gold Rush 2023 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

The Gold Rush Results

The official The Gold Rush race results are known when the event takes place in December each summer.

The first The Gold Rush winner in 2022 was the Leon & Troy Corstens-trained interstate raider The Astrologist who was ridden to an upset victory by ace local hoop William Pike.

The second The Gold Rush winner in 2023 was the Nick Ryan-trained eight-year-old Munhamek from Melbourne who was given a peach of a ride by retiring G.O.A.T. Damien Oliver in the hoop’s final feature race ride.

The Gold Rush Winners