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By Ray Hickson

His stable star has already been a player in a $2 million race this spring and Scone trainer Luke Pepper is preparing for Opal Ridge to race for another $12 million within seven days starting with Saturday’s The Invitation (1400m) at Royal Randwick.

Luke Pepper (Pic: Bradley Photos)

It’s something of a head-spinner for Pepper, who has a team of around 30 horses, as he ponders this week’s $2 million race and the prospect of backing up in the $10 million James Squire Golden Eagle at Rosehill on Saturday week.

The four-year-old has won just over $1.1 million in prizemoney in her 14 starts and is a dual stakes winner so she's already been unforgettable for her connections.

“I’ve got to pinch myself, it’s been an incredible 12 months with this horse,’’ Pepper said.

“The whole ride through for everyone involved has been unbelievable.

“I always knew she was different, and next level, but to be racing in these races for this amount of money for a little country stable in Scone is pretty amazing.”

Opal Ridge, $9.50 with TAB on Thursday, had her first run since an unlucky fifth in the Group 1 Tatt’s Tiara when she chased home Front Page in The Kosciuszko two weeks ago.

She clocked a last 600m of 33 seconds (Punter’s Intelligence) and Pepper said she was simply beaten by a freakish performance on the day.

“She couldn’t have gone any better,’’ he said.

“Mathematically from where she was, and how good the horse in front went, we had to break a world record to beat him.

“She was super through the line and JMac got off and said ‘I can’t believe we went that well and got beaten’.”

It’s important to note that Opal Ridge will wear concussion plates again in The Invitation, they were used in The Kosciuszko to protect the mare from a bruised heel, Pepper said they didn’t affect her performance first-up and it’s probably a case of just being a little protective of her.

He said as well as the horse is going The Invitation is going to be no easy task and it will give him a good pointer as to whether she should press on to the Golden Eagle.

“It’s a tough race, she’s stepping back into a race against pretty much top level mares proven at Group 1 level,’’ he said.

“She’s got to perform, if she’s highly competitive and if she’s right in the finish then we’re crazy not to have a crack at (the Golden Eagle).

"If there’s any doubt we won’t head to it but if she puts her hand up then we will back up.”

Dylan Gibbons, who rode Opal Ridge to a rousing victory on her home track in the Luskin Star back in May, is back on board and Pepper is rapt with a barrier he says should leave her with no excuses.

Opal Ridge runs second in The Kosciuszko

“She’s so versatile, she’s led and won and come from last and won,’’ he said.

“The barrier takes a lot of thinking out of it, you can be confident where you’re going to land and if they go slow she can be close and if they run along she can sit off them.

“She was good on that firm track (first-up) but if she gets a bit of sting out of it that will help her.”

As far as the future goes, Pepper said the mare won't go any deeper into the spring and has already put a target on the Tatt’s Tiara’s back as the Group 1 race he feels will best suit Opal Ridge in 2024.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Randwick meeting