The Gold Rush Tips, Betting, Odds, Horses & More 2024

The Gold Rush, previously known as the AJ Scahill Stakes until 2022, is one of the biggest races to take place each year at Ascot Racecourse. While the race has Group 3 status, it has Group 1 level prize money, which means we always see some of the best runners competing in the race each year. 

Ascot Racecourse is one of the top tracks in the country and The Gold Rush wraps up the calendar year of epic racing in Western Australia which sees some of the biggest races of the year, like the Railway Stakes, the Winterbottom Stakes and the Northerly Stakes.

The race name was chosen from suggestions by readers of The West Australian and in 2024, the race name was extended to the Damien Oliver Gold Rush to honour champion jockey Damien Oliver, who announced his retirement in 2023.

The Perth Racing Carnival has been officially renamed The Pinnacles and is held across five Saturdays of action-packed racing to close out the calendar year with a bang. Racing has died down across the country, with Melbourne and Sydney’s Spring Racing Carnival coming to a close, so racing fans turn their attention West.

OnlyRacing.com.au has every aspect of The Gold Rush covered, so you will never miss out on any of the action. We update this page multiple times a year and cover important aspects like tips, betting and odds details, plus general information like the form guide, field and results.

One of the things that makes this race so intriguing is the prize money that’s involved. There’s $1.5 million on the line and it is split between the top finishers. The breakdown of the total prize money is as follows:

We know there is probably one thing you came here for and that’s horse racing tips. Well, we’re pleased to inform you that we have some of the best free horse racing tips in Australia (if we do say so ourselves!) and this includes Ascot tips as well. Each year, we provide three tips for The Gold Rush, our best bet, next best and best roughie.

Our tips for The Gold Rush in 2024 aren’t available just yet because we’re waiting until the final field is confirmed. Once we have this information, we’ll get cracking on our tips for the upcoming race. The final field gives us vital information and we look into each horse to analyse their chances.

This is the same process we took in 2023 for our The Gold Rush tips, so if you’re interested in seeing what we put together, we’ve left up our tips. You can see the tips in all their glory in this section (we will replace them with our 2024 tips when the time is right).

The Gold Rush Best Bet - Ripcord

If you look up the definition of an open race, you’ll probably get The Gold Rush on Saturday! At the time of writing, we have four runners between the $6.00 to $7.00 mark and Ripcord is the current favourite at $6.00. I’m siding with him on this one. He is taking on the older horses again after a solid performance in the Winterbottom Stakes.

Ripcord finished strongly in that Group 1, finishing in third place, so I think he is certainly up to the task for The Gold Rush. His run before the Winterbottom Stakes was even better. He was last in that one and then absolutely let rip and was good enough to nab the leader right on the line.

The Gold Rush Next Best - Munhamek 

My money is on Munhamek for my next best for The Gold Rush. He has got some good form lines coming into this one from Spring and he finished third in the Group 2 Damien Oliver. That exact jockey is the one who rides Munhamek in this one and it’s his last race as well. So, does Damien Oliver get his fairytale ending?

Munhamek shouldn’t encounter as many problems in this one considering he jumps from a wide barrier. He should be in clear air on the outside of the rest of the field. If he can produce a strong finish, he’ll be right in this and with odds of $7.00 at the time of writing, there’s some pretty good value there.

The Gold Rush Best Roughie - Red Can Man

The honour of my best roughie for The Gold Rush goes to Red Can Man. He finished an unlucky fifth in this race last year and there’s some great value for him in this one, with odds currently listed at $21 for the win. He has some pretty good form coming into this race as well, finishing in the top four in three of his last four starts.

Last time out, he finished fourth in the Winterbottom Stakes, which was an excellent effort if you ask me. He gets the services of the experienced Paul Harvey as the jockey and I think he works to set Red Can Man in the midfield to get an easy run in the beginning. If he’s got something left in the tank, I think he can surprise a few and finish in the top three.

Our tips for The Gold Rush in 2024 will be available during race week, so make sure you check back again then.

The Gold Rush is one of the biggest races on the calendar in Australia and with all that popularity people want to bet on the race. If you’re thinking about having a bet on The Gold Rush but aren’t exactly sure where to start, we’ve got you covered with all the information you need to know in this section.

There are so many different betting sites in Australia, all with slightly different offerings, so it makes it difficult to choose which bookie is best for you. A good place to start, however, is our bookie reviews page as we have comprehensive reviews on all the top betting sites in the country, making it easy for you to decide which one is best for you.

In our reviews, we also looked into the best new betting apps in Australia. New betting sites usually have the best apps going around, so it’s perfect for those who are always on the go but still want to easily place some horse racing bets. 

You don’t have to stick with one app or betting site either. Nothing is stopping you from opening accounts with multiple bookies, in fact, this is something we recommend because you’ll more easily be able to take advantage of things like better odds and bonus offers.

Once you’ve chosen the bookie (or bookies) you wish to open an account with, the next step is to choose what market you are going to bet on for The Gold Rush. There will be plenty of markets available and bookies like PlayUp, Bet365 and Unibet may even have futures markets live, which means you can bet months out from race day.

Each year, The Gold Rush field is confirmed during race week. Seeing that it is currently not race week, we don’t yet know which runners will be taking part in the race. However, there’s a lot of prize money on the line in this one, so it’s a pretty safe bet that there will be a high-quality field.

As we touched on in the section above, there will likely be futures markets available well before the event. If available, it’s a good idea to check that out because it will give you somewhat of a sneak peek into the type of runners that might be targeting The Gold Rush.

We’ve left the field for The Gold Rush from 2023 up in this section, so you can see the quality of runners that lined up previously in this race. Check out all the runners here:

For The Gold Rush in 2023, we saw a field of 16 runners confirmed, along with three emergencies, just in case there were any pre-race scratchings. None of the emergencies were able to make their way into the final field as there didn’t end up being any scratchings before the race.

Scratchings are always something to consider when it comes to horse racing as they happen quite regularly. While it is pretty annoying to see the horse you backed end up being scratched, just know that you will have your stake refunded to you. Keep an eye on scratching because they can happen at any time.

Something else that is worth considering when looking at the final field is the barrier draw. The size of the field, racecourse and length of the race will all play a role in just how important the barrier draw is. Also, with a race like The Gold Rush, there have been barriers that are more successful than others.

The Gold Rush is one of the biggest Group 3 races on the calendar and it has been running for a few decades now. If you’re thinking of placing a bet on the race, one of the best things you can do is check out the form guide. The Gold Rush form guide will reveal patterns in the data, potentially pointing you in the direction of the next winner.

For The Gold Rush form guide, there are a few areas in particular that you should focus on:

• Recent Form - See how runners have performed so far this prep. If they are tackling The Gold Rush first-up, then you should look into trial performance. It’s a good idea to look into the results deeper as well, a middle-of-the-pack finish might actually be a decent run if the runner was held up at a critical time or was very far back.
• Barrier Draw - The barrier draw can have a fairly significant role in how the race plays out. Look at other races that are run at this track and distance to see which barriers are successful, plus look at the most successful barriers from this race in the past.
• Success at Track/ Distance - Some runners might have had a lot of success previously at Ascot Racecourse, so they should be seriously considered. Also, if horses are trained at this track, a home track advantage can be influential. Don’t forget about the distance as well.
• Success in Weight-For-Age Conditions - The Gold Rush is run under weight-for-age conditions, so you should look into how runners have performed in this type of race previously. You should also consider the quality of those races as well, races with Group status are of a much higher quality.
• Proven Group 3 Form - Finding a runner with Group 3 form is always a good idea. You should also check if they have any experience at Group 1 or 2 level as well. Things go up a notch when we get to Group level races.

Each year, we see some of the best horses compete in The Gold Rush, but only the best of the best can go on to win the race. The race has been around for a few decades now which means there’s a large pool of horses to choose from and potentially feature in this section.

We’ve gone through all The Gold Rush horses and chosen a handful to feature here in this section. We talk more about their careers and any major accomplishments or honours they have received. All the best horses can be found in this section:

Takeover Target - 2008

With an impressive career record of 41:21-6-4 and over $6 million worth of prize money in the bank, it is easy to see why Takeover Target deserves a spot on this list. Named the 2006 Australian Champion Sprinter, he won Group One races like the Newmarket Handicap, the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes and the Doomben 10,000.

Watermans Bay - 2014 & 2015

Watermans Bay was victorious in The Gold Rush in back-to-back years, winning in 2014 and then again in 2015. Ascot Racecourse was his home track and he won over $1 million in prize money throughout his career. He never managed to win a Group 1 race, but did finish second twice and third once.

Vega Magic - 2016

Multiple Group 1 winner, Vega Magic, was also victorious in The Gold Rush in 2016. Vega Magic finished his career with a record of 27:14-3-1 and won over $4 million in prize money. The two Group 1 races he won throughout his career included the Memsie Stakes and The Goodwood.

Kementari - 2020

Kementari was always in and around Group level and with 20 Group 1 races under his belt, he did manage to win one, which was the Randwick Guineas in 2018. The gelding had an overall career record of 49:8-6-8 and won almost $5 million in prize money throughout his time racing.

Munhamek - 2023

The fairytale came true as jockey Damien Oliver won his last race on Munhamek, in the race that is named in his honour! The gelding has won $2,528,727 so far in his career and has a record of 64:13-9-8. He has contested three Group 1 races so far but is yet to place in any of them.

If you’re going to bet on The Gold Rush, one of the things you’ll need to know is the odds. The odds give you an indication of which runners are currently more favoured in the market. However, it is important to remember that odds are a fickle thing and they are constantly changing. 

As the odds are always changing, it is a good idea to get your bets sorted as soon as you see a price you like. If not, you risk the odds shortening and then you won’t get as much value for your bet as you would have previously.

You’ll also notice that different bookies may have different odds for the same runner. So, another thing we recommend is that you shop around. This is especially the case if you’re thinking of betting on a roughie, where the discrepancy between bookies may be larger.

As we get closer to The Gold Rush race day, you’ll see more horse racing markets open up. So, if you’re into some of the more exotic markets, you’ll likely have to wait until race week to get your bets sorted. If you’re looking for simple markets like Fixed Win/ Place bets, then you’ll be pleased to know that those markets usually open up well before the race.

Come back again soon as we will list all The Gold Rush odds from PlayUp when they release their market.

Even though The Gold Rush holds Group 3 status, it is still one of the biggest races on the Australian calendar and thanks to the $1.5 million in prize money on offer, it always attracts the attention of some of the best racehorses in the country. The race is one of the final major Group level races of the calendar year.

Previously known as the AJ Scahill Stakes, the race was named in honour of a Vice Chairman of the WATC and first run back in 1978, when won by Burgess Queen. The Gold Rush takes place during Perth’s Racing Carnival, which is one of the biggest horse racing carnivals on the calendar.

The race was officially renamed the Damien Oliver Gold Rush after the champion jockey announced his retirement in 2023. In fairytale fashion, the 2023 race was Damien Oliver’s last race and he won it on board of Munhamek.

The Gold Rush was previously run as a Principal race up until 1979, then it was given Group 3 status. The race in 2003 took place at Belmont Racecourse instead of Ascot Racecourse. Interestingly, Arcadia Queen’s brother, Arcadia Prince, won this race in 2018.

In 2008, Takeover Target won the Winterbottom Stakes and then stayed out West to claim The Gold Rush easily and there were only five runners in that field. Takeover Target is probably one of the most successful horses to ever win The Gold Rush.

It’s the thing everyone wants to know, who won the latest The Gold Rush race? Well, we’ve got you sorted with all the results details you’ve been on the hunt for. We provide a table with the finishing order of the entire field plus a video replay, so you can relive all the action as it unfolded.

For The Gold Rush in 2023, the race was won by Munhamek, which was fitting considering Munhamek was ridden by Damien Oliver in his last-ever race, in a race that was named in his honour. Ripcord finished in second place, 0.52L off the leader.

Wrapping up the final minor placing was Comfort Me, who ended up being 1.17L off the leader. It was a hotly contested race and there was just 7.62L that split the entire field, with the race run in a time of 1:22.75.

See here each runner in the field finished in The Gold Rush:

Ready to relive all the action from The Gold Rush? See how the race unfolded and what the winner needed to do to get across the finishing post first:

We’ve seen some pretty epic battles over the years in The Gold Rush. In the end, there can only be one winner though. We’ve gone through and listed all the recent winners of this race in this section:

We’ve endeavoured to cover all the important topics about The Gold Rush, but if anything has slipped through the cracks, they’ll hopefully be ticked off here. We’ve gone through and answered some of the most common questions people have about The Gold Rush in this section.