3 minute read

The Pinnacles wraps up this Saturday with all eyes on Damien Oliver in the Gold Rush at Ascot.

Damien Oliver's final ride will be aboard Munhamek and is one of the leading chances in the market. Oliver hasn't managed a win in The Pinnacles and no doubt plenty will be cheering him home.

The horse itself certainly isn't hopeless. He comes here with a peak Timeform rating of 111, which would have him somewhere in the mix, and it's easy to forgive his last start in the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) when last and wide on a tough day to make ground.

That said, this race usually takes a bit more winning than what we've seen from him. In the inaugural running of the Gold Rush, The Astrologist ran to 117 under Pike, and in the two year's prior as the A J Scahill Stakes, Valour Road went 111 and Kementari 114.

This year's edition probably looks a touch thinner on paper than last year and I'd be expecting around the 114 mark to be going awfully close to winning, so it's not much of a leap for a horse like Munhamek. He will need an absolute Olly special from barrier 14 though.

There's a handful of horses within a length or so of that mark, and just two to have bettered it, the first being Dom To Shoot last week in the Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m). It's an interesting decision to back him up, dropping 400m in trip.

He ran to 115 there which is probably good enough to win this, and his 113 in the Railway from a long way back was also very good, but how sharp he is for a horse that can get a long way back in the field has to be a genuine query, especially from a very wide gate.

The other to run to 115 of late was the Railway winner Bustler, but he faces the same problem as Dom To Shoot, backing up out of The Northerly. The pair probably have to run very close to their best to win and that seems unlikely.

The other local that rates well is Valour Road, who beat Dom To Shoot and Bustler in the Group 2 Lee Steere Stakes (1400m) last start. He ran to 113 there which would see him right in the finish here and he looks more likely to run that number again than the others do to run their peaks. He too is drawn wide but will offset that by going forward.

Ayrton comes over the highest rated interstate raider for the race. He is rated 114 off his first up win at Caulfield but he's not the most reliable conveyance and that is as good as he goes. Getting Damian Lane across to ride is a positive and his best could win this race, but he's not much (if any) better than some of the locals.

That brings us down to the three-year-old in the race, Ripcord. He was visually awesome winning the Placid Ark Stakes two back but the sectionals will note the pace was frantic up front. Still, he backed it up in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) behind Overpass, beaten 2.5 lengths in third and running the second fastest last 200m of the race.

He's run to 112 with Timeform there which already has him right in the finish and I think 1400m will suit him down to the ground. The barrier looks good for him, coming into 8 after scratchings and he doesn't need to improve much to be winning.

I was surprised that Ripcord started $6.50 in the Winterbottom (mainly due to the fact Overpass should've been much shorter) but his run was very good and now TABtouch are giving us the same price in an easier race, which is arguably over a better distance.

He is having his sixth run in his second preparation but hasn't shown any signs of dropping off and I think you could argue he deserves to be favourite.

No one would begrudge Munhamek and Olly winning the Damien Oliver Gold Rush but I'll be backing Ripcord at $6 with TABtouch and having something on Valour Road at $9.50.

Gold Rush

Top tip: #16 Ripcord @ $6 with TABtouch*
Also backing: #Valor Road @ $9.50 with TABtouch*

*Odds correct at 12:15pm, 14/12/23

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