Opal Ridge draws perfectly for The Kosciuszko

The country-trained gallopers get their chance to shine this Saturday at Royal Randwick, as the $2 million Kosciuszko (1200m) has attracted a full field of 14.

Trainer Luke Pepper has picked out this race for Opal Ridge since contesting the Group 1 Tatts Tiara (1400m) during the winter months and comes into the race first-up.

Barrier two combined with the services of James McDonald have online bookmakers siding with the four-year-old mare opening a clear +160 favourite.

The highest rated horse in the field comes in the form of the Mathew Dale-trained Front Page, who finds himself on the second line of betting at +400.

Leading Queensland hoop James Orman makes the trip down south to take the reins aboard Far Too Easy (+500), while Derry Grove (+500) searches for his fourth win of the campaign.

Mogo Magic brings an unblemished resume into the race, with five starts for as many wins, rounding out the horses in single digits at +800.

Mnementh (+1600) is first-up for the Mitchell Beer barn and is already a Listed winner, while the likes of Bianco Vilano (+3000), Our Last Cash (+3000) and Cavalier Charles (+4000) all warrant respect at big prices.

The Kosciuszko is set to get underway at 2:50pm AEDT and is the fifth race of the afternoon at Randwick, providing a wonderful appetizer for The Everest (1200m) later in the program.

The Kosciuszko Final Field 2023

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
1	Front Page	Matthew Dale	Tyler Schiller	8	59kg
2	Mnementh	Mitchell Beer	Tommy Berry	7	59kg
3	Far Too Easy	David McColm	James Orman	12	58.5kg
4	Akasawa	Paul Messara & Leah Gavranich	Aaron Bullock	10	58.5kg
5	Cavalier Charles	Matthew Dale	Hugh Bowman	14	57.5kg
6	I’ve Bean Tryin’	Matthew Kelley	Jason Collett	11	57.5kg
7	Opal Ridge	Luke Pepper	James McDonald	2	57kg
8	Mogo Magic	Scott Collings	Nick Heywood	4	57kg
9	Bianco Vilano	Ron Stubbs	Craig Williams	9	57kg
10	Our Last Cash	Donna Scott	Rachel King	13	56.5kg
11	Sizzle Minizzle	Brett Robb	Sam Clipperton	5	56.5kg
12	Derry Grove	Matthew Dunn	Nash Rawiller	6	55.5kg
13	Broken Hill	Cody Morgan	Dylan Gibbons	3	55kg
14	Kimberley Secrets	Nick Olive	Kathy O’Hara	1	54kg
15	Art Cadeau (1E)	Terry Robinson	TBC	TBC	59kg
16	Fender (2E)	Brett Cavanough	TBC	TBC	58.5kg
17	Super Helpful (3E)	Barbara Joseph, Paul & Matt Jones	Adam Hyeronimus	TBC	58.5kg
18	Greyworm (4E)	Neville Boyle	TBC	TBC	57.5kg