As it turned out July proved to be the best month since February. Bet you didn't see that coming.

There was also movement at the top, although not yet enough to topple the 80-somethings Ben-ites share club.

Along with Richard Hemming, they were the only racers to lose ground as the market regained some composure thanks to calmer – relatively speaking, that is – Shanghai trading.

The one to watch is the dartboard, still in second place but bearer of one of the week's best performers, Nemex Resources, which shot up from nowhere for no obvious reason.

Perhaps it was the recovery in the iron ore price which, although still depressed, is 25 per cent higher than its recent six-year low, or the weaker dollar, or the fact it bought a biometric technology company which certainly gives it some diversification. Then again it might not have been any of them.

Only $673 in our $100,000 pretend portfolio of 10 stocks separates the Ben-ites and the dartboard.

The top stock, chosen by chartist Richard Pritchard, is still Coventry Resources but it's losing momentum, shedding $2105 in a week.

The Ben-ites boast the second best stock, Blackmores, but their strategy has been to have a clean slate of stocks in the black, which is easier said than done. Every other challenger has at least one stock in the red.

The race is entering the final week, the only one that really matters, and challenges such as the official rate decision on Tuesday (no change) along with June's retail sales, job figures on Thursday and the Reserve Bank's key quarterly statement on monetary policy on Friday.