Giga Kick has kept his record intact and provided Clayton Douglas with his biggest success in two years of training with a fighting win at Flemington.
A former jumps jockey with two wins in Australia’s longest race, the Grand Annual Steeplechase, Douglas has a team in work at Mornington.
Douglas scored with Barocha with his maiden runner at Sale in August 2022, but Saturday’s success in the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) was clearly his most important to date.
Sent out the $1.95 favourite under Craig Williams, Giga Kick held out Buenos Noches ($5.50) by a nose with Cannonball ($31) a further 1-½ lengths away third.
Giga Kick took out the Group 3 Vain Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on August 13 and was going seven weeks without a run leading into Saturday’s contest.
Douglas said Giga Kick would derive a lot of benefit from the outings as he heads towards the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on October 29.
“What a horse. Seven weeks between runs and he was probably feeling it late in that contest, but it was a great effort,” Douglas said.
“Like Jayne (Ivil) said in the yard, he’s just a completely different horse now. He’s done so well, and I think he’s got nice improvement to come.
“He’s still big enough and still got plenty in the tank.
“He’s only going to be better in the autumn, but we’ve got a serious horse for the spring anyway.”
Giga Kick ran the 1100m in 1:02.69 which bettered the class record of Nature Strip while the time was a half-second outside the track record set back in 2013.
Williams said credit must go to Douglas for the way he has handled Giga Kick, taking him from a debut Sale maiden win to winning a Group 2 race during the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
He said there was more he would take away from the victory saying Giga Kick was still developing.
“Apart from being undefeated, to win this prestigious race, the Danehill, leading into the Coolmore Stud Stakes, he’s a really exciting horse,” Williams said.
