3 minute read

A fairly quiet week as we whip around the grounds for the horses and ratings of interest from the weekend.

Gold Rush

Western Empire took out the Gold Rush at Ascot with a RAS rating of 116, his second-highest career rating, only bettered by the 4.5 length win in the 2021 Railway Stakes.

He'd run to 111 fresh before being found wanting for pace in the Winterbottom, dipping to 105, but notably his expected rating there was 117 having started $4, drifting on Saturday to start $7.

The time figure here is (as expected) the best on the card, and it was clearly the fastest 1400m race of four on the card. While Western Empire was back in the field, he wasn't too poorly positioned given the tempo, and what is clear (if it wasn't already) is that he isn't a sprinter.

This is the run of a strong miler, which he's shown to be in the past, and while it's unlikely we ever see him back East, he's the best 1400-1600m horse in Perth and can win plenty more races at those trips.

Caulfield Heath

Touching quickly on the win of Invincible Woman who took out the two-year-old race impressively on debut, running to a RAS rating of 100 in the process.

Adjusted for distance and age, she's run the best time figure on the card and looks set to tackle the Magic Millions 2yo Classic in January, where she's into second favourite.

Memo is the favourite for that race, unlucky in the Wyong leadup with a RAS rating of 99, so there's very little between them at this stage.

I would think we see Invincible Woman again before the Gold Coast, with that race typically won with a RAS rating between 105-116; Storm Boy at 116 the best in recent years over Capitalist & Sunlight (both 113).

Randwick

Also looking at the two-year-old race here as Within The Law won the $500,000 Listed Inglis Nursery (1000m).

She won't be eligible for the Magic Millions of course but has posted a strong rating on debut, running to 100 on the RAS scale, the same rating as Invincible Woman in Melbourne.

That's one pound better than Odinson last year, although does sit a fair way off some of the top two-year-olds to have won this race in recent years.

Extreme Choice and She Will Reign both ran to 113 in their wins, but Within The Law does edge the likes of Pacific Padrino (99), Wild Ruler (98) and Hong Kong Bet (98).

The time here is also quite strong, like Invincible Woman, adjusted for distance and age, it comes in as the quickest speed figure on the card by one pound, only a couple of lengths slower than the highway on the same day.

Both her and Invincible Woman look handy enough to at least follow into their next start.