The fourth edition of $1.5 million The Gold Rush ran on Saturday December 13, 2025 at Ascot Racecourse in Perth and was won in style by the visiting Robbie Griffiths trained Victorian Rey Magnerio ($5.50).
2025 The Gold Rush Results
The full The Gold Rush 2025 Results & Finishing Order on the $1.5 million showdown will be available below after the Group 3 is run and won on Saturday December 13, 2025.
- 1st: No. 9 Rey Magnerio
- 2nd: No. 10 Cosmic Crusader
- 3rd: No. 1 Overpass
The Victorian visitor Rey Magnerio ($5.50) delivered a commanding performance to claim victory in the 2025 The Gold Rush results at Ascot on Saturday, stepping up to the trip for the first time and proving far too strong late.
The Robbie Griffiths trained sprinter had stayed on in Perth after his excellent third in the Winterbottom Stakes, and the decision to pay a late entry fee for the $1.5 million feature paid off in style.
Given a perfect ride by the ‘Wizard of the West’ William Pike, Rey Magnerio loomed up in the straight, swept past long time leader Overpass at the 50-metre mark, and held off a fast-finishing Northerly Stakes winner Cosmic Crusader to score impressively.
2025 The Gold Rush Odds
The season’s top The Gold Rush 2025 odds and Perth Group race betting market links will be provided below so stay tuned for access to the best summer prices.
| 9. Rey Magnerio (5) J: William Pike 59kg 4x133T: Robbie Griffiths | ||
| 10. Cosmic Crusader (9) J: Clint Johnston-Porter 59kg 13311T: Michael Grantham | ||
| 1. Overpass (8) J: Josh Parr 59kg 59x42T: Bjorn Baker | ||
| 8. Oscar's Fortune (1) J: Alan Kennedy 59kg 9x226T: Dion Luciani | ||
| 13. Super Smink (2) J: Lucy Fiore 57kg 9x310T: Daniel Morton | ||
| 12. Aztec Ruler (4) J: Chris Parnham 59kg x0742T: Stefan Vahala | ||
| 4. Magnificent Andy (11) J: Brad Parnham 59kg x1545T: Stephen Miller | ||
| 2. Western Empire (12) J: Billy Egan 59kg 4x523T: Grant & Alana Williams | ||
| 11. Rope Them In (7) J: Shaun McGruddy 59kg 0x124T: Steve Wolfe | ||
| 6. Bustler (10) J: Steven Parnham 59kg 9x070T: Neville Parnham | ||
| 7. Iowna Merc (3) J: Joey Azzopardi 59kg x6200T: Bjorn Baker | ||
| 5. Comfort Me (6) J: Holly Watson 59kg 0x236T: Rhys Radford |
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.
The Winterbottom also produced the 2024 The Gold Rush winner with Western Empire improving on his lead-up ninth in the Group 1 sprint to claim the third edition.
The 2025 The Gold Rush champion Rey Magnerio was also a Winterbottom graduate having run third in the Group 1 sprint ahead of his breakthrough win in the $1.5 million Ascot feature.
2025 The Gold Rush Tips
Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive The Gold Rush 2025 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: No. 1 Overpass
OVERPASS (8) has tightened into clear favouritism for The Gold Rush and punters look set to rally behind him after the barrier draw.
Bjorn Baker’s seasoned seven‑year‑old is a proven Ascot specialist (6:4‑1‑0) and shapes as the horse to beat, aiming to rebound after his brave runner‑up effort when chasing a Winterbottom Stakes three‑peat just a fortnight ago.
Earlier in the spring he was only 1.5 lengths off Hong Kong hero Ka Ying Rising in Sydney’s The Everest, underlining his class on the world stage, and his fresh run in Perth saw him edged out in a photo by Libertad over 1200m.
With Josh Parr sticking in the saddle, the partnership looks primed to go one better. Parr rolled him forward last start and the gelding tried to control proceedings from the front, just lacking that final bit of fitness late.
The rise to 1400m is a slight query given he’s yet to place at the trip, but his consistency, toughness, and track record suggest he’s ready to peak.
Expect him to bounce to the lead again and prove very hard to catch – tipping OVERPASS to go all the way.
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1. Overpass (8)
J: Josh Parr 59kg
59×42T: Bjorn Baker
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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 now continues 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 Gold Rush Race Info
- Date: Saturday December 13, 2025
- 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 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).
The official The Gold Rush field of final acceptances is announced the Monday of race week following on from the early nominations in October.
2025 The Gold Rush Field
The official The Gold Rush 2025 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 Gold Rush 2025 final field features a top-class line-up of 13 summer hopefuls led in betting by past The Quokka champions Jokers Grin and Overpass coming off runs for fifth and second respectively in the Winterbottom Stakes.
The official The Gold Rush 2025 barrier draw will be conducted on Tuesday evening and updated below.
| Entrant | Last 6 | Sex | Barrier | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Overpass
J: Josh Parr
T: Bjorn Baker |
259x42 | G | 8 | 59kg | |
|
2. Western Empire
J: Billy Egan
T: Grant & Alana Williams |
14x523 | G | 12 | 59kg | |
| 3. Jokers Grin (10) Scratched: | |||||
|
4. Magnificent Andy
J: Brad Parnham
T: Stephen Miller |
2x1545 | G | 11 | 59kg | |
|
5. Comfort Me
J: Holly Watson
T: Rhys Radford |
00x236 | G | 6 | 59kg | |
|
6. Bustler
J: Steven Parnham
T: Neville Parnham |
89x070 | G | 10 | 59kg | |
|
7. Iowna Merc
J: Joey Azzopardi
T: Bjorn Baker |
0x6200 | G | 3 | 59kg | |
|
8. Oscar's Fortune
J: Alan Kennedy
T: Dion Luciani |
69x226 | G | 1 | 59kg | |
|
9. Rey Magnerio
J: William Pike
T: Robbie Griffiths |
74x133 | G | 5 | 59kg | |
|
10. Cosmic Crusader
J: Clint Johnston-Porter
T: Michael Grantham |
113311 | G | 9 | 59kg | |
|
11. Rope Them In
J: Shaun McGruddy
T: Steve Wolfe |
70x124 | G | 7 | 59kg | |
|
12. Aztec Ruler
J: Chris Parnham
T: Stefan Vahala |
0x0742 | G | 4 | 59kg | |
|
13. Super Smink
J: Lucy Fiore
T: Daniel Morton |
79x310 | M | 2 | 57kg | |
2025 The Gold Rush Nominations
The early The Gold Rush 2025 nominations are taken around two months before The Gold Rush Day in mid-December, the full entries to be released below.
The Gold Rush 2025 nominations attracted 106 horses led in all-in betting by the ultra-consistent reigning The Quokka champion Jokers Grin.
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.
2025 The Gold Rush Form Guide
A link to our comprehensive The Gold Rush 2025 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 third The Gold Rush winner in 2024 was the Grant & Alana Williams-trained seven-year-old local hope Western Empire ($7) who was ridden to an impressive victory by Billy Egan in a race record time of 1 minute 21.94 seconds.
The fourth The Gold Rush winner in 2025 was the Robbie Griffiths-trained six-year-old from Victoria, Rey Magnerio ($5.50), who handed William Pike his second winning ride in the event.
The Gold Rush Winners
| Year | Winner | Second | Third | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Rey Magnerio | Cosmic Crusader | Overpass | 1:21.43 |
| 2024 | Western Empire | Magnificent Andy | Super Smink | 1:21.94 |
| 2023 | Munhamek | Ripcord | Comfort Me | 1:22.75 |
| 2022 | The Astrologist | Kissonallforcheeks | Comfort Me | 1:22.44 |
FAQ
Who won the 2025 The Gold Rush?
The 2025 The Gold Rush was won by six-year-old Magnus gelding Rey Magnerio at $5.50 for trainer Robbie Griffiths with jockey William Pike aboard on 59kg from barrier 5 to win by 0.4 lengths on a Good (4) track in a time of 1:21.43.
Who won the 2024 The Gold Rush?
The 2024 The Gold Rush was won by Western Empire for Grant & Alana Williams at $7 with Billy Egan in the saddle.
When is The Gold Rush 2025?
Saturday December 13, 2025What is the prize money for The Gold Rush 2025?
$1,500,000
Where is The Gold Rush 2025?
Ascot Racecourse, 71 Grandstand Road, Ascot Western Australia 6104.
How do I bet on the 2025 The Gold Rush?
Bet online or via the latest iOS/Android apps with Ladbrokes.
The first step is to create an account at ladbrokes.com.au. The process is quick and easy!
Once you've created your account you can make a deposit via credit card, or any other of our secure payment methods. Next up, head to the racing page and find the race and runner that's right for you.
Which horse will win the 2025 The Gold Rush?
The best way to pick which horse will win The Gold Rush is to take into account the form, assess the barriers, and consider the weight the horse will carry (among other factors). Check out ladbrokes.com.au in the lead up to the race for full form information.