The Festival of Perth Racing action has been extended to include the brand-new Group 3 $1.5 million The Gold Rush (1400m) this weekend at Ascot where Godolphin’s interstate raider Vilana is one of the top fancies.
Vilana is one of the favourites to win the inaugural The Gold Rush in Perth this weekend. Steve Hart.
A capacity line-up of weight-for-age hopefuls face off in the lucrative middle-distance sprint on Saturday including the James Cummings-trained Hallowed Crown four-year-old Vilana.
The in-form entire has won six of his 10 career starts including two of his past three, and the $1.6 million earner comes off a narrow victory in the $1 million The Hunter (1300m) at Newcastle on November 12.
Kept fresh since he gets a month between runs and is drawn a treat with the inside alley and Ben Melham coming aboard for the ride.
He’ll get the run of the race from that barrier and after a slight drift in betting is out to a nice price of $4.60 through Ladbrokes.
The latest The Gold Rush betting markets are now led by the Dan Morton-trained local Kissonallforcheeks ($4.50).
After a stint with Nick Ryan in Victoria, the Perth-based mare returned home last start running a devastatingly close second behind Paulele in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m).
The five-year-old daughter of Written Tycoon was brave going down the barest of margins at double-figures from a wide alley (13 of 16) and will get a better run here from gate seven.
Chris Parnham retains the ride and Kissonallforcheeks presents fitter second-up back up to her preferred distance (9:5-1-0).
Despite the size of The Gold Rush field just one other runner is currently under double-figures for the win with Vilana’s stablemate, the fellow Godolphin-raced Kementari at $7.50 to return to winning form.
Drawn out in barrier 11 with Ms Jamie Kah to ride, Kementari is the early The Gold Rush market mover having opened at $9 odds earlier in the week.
The horse dubbed ‘Special K’ has a strong legion of fans he is out to impress this weekend, and the veteran eight-year-old was last seen running third in the $3 million Winners Stakes (1300m) behind Private Eye at a big price on October 29.
Seventh as a 50/1 outsider under three lengths off Giga Kick the run before in the $15 million The Everest (1200m), Kementari has been kept fit with a winning barrier trial over 1000m at Belmont in WA on November 21.
At longer The Gold Rush odds presenting as the potential value runners include Morton’s other starter Elite Street ($10) who is a six-time winner from 11 starts at the track and the Mitchell Pateman-trained mare This’ll Testya ($14) coming off a third in the Winterbottom Stakes but with a wide alley to overcome.
The Gold Rush 2022 runs as Ascot Race 9 at 4:57pm (AWST) on Saturday’s bumper 10-race card in Perth.
