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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Luke Pepper knew Saturday was the perfect time for Opal Ridge to press her claims for the $2 million The Kosciuszko and the lightly raced filly delivered.

A filly from Scone coming off a Highway win taking out the richest race for country trained horses. That sounds familiar.

It might have been a TAB Highway (1200m) at Royal Randwick but the win moved Pepper, who relocated to Scone earlier this year, to speak about his three-year-old in the same breath as Brett Cavanough's 2020 Kosciuszko winner It’s Me who won the race on the back of successive Highway wins.

Opal Ridge firmed into $9 with TAB just days out from the close of ticket sales at midnight on Wednesday and the draw of the 14 slot winners on Friday.

“She’s definitely put her hand up for a Kosciuszko,’’ Pepper said.

“She profiles like It’s Me, a three-year-old filly on the way up, and I think that’s where we will target.

“We’ve got to go home now, she’s fit and we just have to keep her happy, and hopefully we get a slot that’s the main problem.

“Two million dollars, it’s hard to toss up. If we get a slot we will definitely run as long as she’s happy and well.”

After jumping well, James McDonald positioned Opal Ridge in a stalking position and after a short struggle was able to get the better of the leader Prince Nicconi to score by a long neck with three lengths to Salire in third.

It’ll naturally be a tougher task against more experienced rivals in the Kosciuzsko, should she gain a slot, but when It’s Me won the race two years ago it was only her fourth race start and she hadn’t been exposed outside of Highway and country grade.

Opal Ridge wears down Prince Nicconi in a two-horse battle. @mcacajamez @GoulburnTrainer @aus_turf_club pic.twitter.com/HOtFMjH6kN

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) September 3, 2022

“I’ve always had a massive opinion of her there’s no doubt about that,’’ Pepper said.

“We had to take our time, she had an injury early doors, she’s on the up and obviously we’ve got to go against the older hard heads but hopefully she can do it.”

Pepper had considered running his filly in the Group 2 Furious Stakes (1200m) after a gutsy effort two weeks earlier in the Silver Shadow but when he secured the champion jockey for the Highway there wasn’t really a choice.

“She got the job done and it was obviously a great ride by JMac,’’ Pepper said.

“When we were able to book him in this race it was easy to make the decision to run in it.

“The fillies this year are incredible, it’s a great lot of fillies, I thought it was a better option for her. I think she is a black type horse later but I think we made the right move.”

McDonald said Opal Ridge ticked an important box by beating older horses in the Highway on a heavy track and was impressed with how she wanted to win the race.

“That was a testament to her quality. She was in for the fight. She had to do it the tough way,” he said.

“She is a three-year-old filly against those older horses. It just shows how good she is because she had to really knuckle down late. She did a really good job.

“She gets through the heavy conditions and it raced genuinely as a heavy track. It was really hard work for them so she had to be very tough.”

Check out the replays and results from Royal Randwick