Clayton Douglas and his star sprinter Giga Kick will almost be strangers when the Caulfield Cup Carnival kicks off on Saturday.
In two of the past three years, Douglas and Giga Kick have been in Sydney preparing for The Everest which the gelding won in 2022 and finished second in last year while injury robbed the sprinter his title defence in 2023.
This year, Giga Kick will be at Caulfield when he lines up in the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes (1100m) on Saturday, the start of a potential four-run campaign for the now six-year-old.
After two runs during the winter and a break in Brisbane after what Douglas described as a disappointing outcome, Giga Kick is ready to kick off again.
“Normally he would kick off earlier in the spring but we’re a bit later this time,” Douglas said.
“He’s had the one trial leading into Saturday, but he’s forward enough to be running really well.
“His racing pattern is that he will get off the speed and there looks like there will be good speed in the race and hopefully they overdo it up front and he can hit the line hard.”
Douglas said not being tied to an Everest campaign means he can stretch it out later into the year.
He said the McEwen Stakes at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Day, the Champions Stakes at Flemington on the final day of Melbourne Cup week and the CF Orr Stakes at Caulfield are all potential races after Saturday.
“Being a 115-rater, he’s meeting horses very well under the weight-for-age scale on Saturday and every time he goes to the races, being a quality animal, he’s going to run well,” Douglas said.
“There are some nice options going forward, like the Champions Sprint, the C F Orr, and maybe even the McEwen on Cox Plate Day.
“Not being tied down to The Everest, means we can have a different program.
“We’ve tried to win the Champions Sprint a couple of times and haven’t been able to do it, so hopefully this time we can be the fresh horse on the scene.
“This time last year we were 12 months after he had a year off because of injury and we’ve had 12 months now to get some nice runs into him and he’s forward and fit to run well.”
When Giga Kick won The Everest, it was four days before he officially turned three.
Now three years later, he’s a vastly bigger and stronger horse, but more importantly still wants to do the job for Douglas.
“He didn’t have long off after winter and he’s a horse that carries his problems,” Douglas said.
“He takes a little longer to warm up most mornings, but he’s free in his action and I’m really happy with how he’s been.
“He’s just under the 550-kilo mark. He’s a bigger and stronger horse now than he’s ever been as when he won The Everest, he was 480 kilos.
“It’s amazing the maturity he’s taken from then to now.”
