If the spring season had unfolded otherwise, Giga Kick might not have been preparing for a fresh preparation beginning at Flemington.
The Group 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m) this Saturday marks the start for Giga Kick prior to heading to Sydney for the remainder of his autumn program.
Clayton Douglas, the trainer, noted that Giga Kick’s most recent preparation was the most seamless in quite some time, and he anticipates the gelding will maintain the form that delivered two unbeaten outings last spring.
That success came after an unlucky venture to Adelaide for The Goodwood in May plus a fair effort in Brisbane during the Kingsford Smith Cup the next month, with Douglas indicating that without the spring resurgence, the horse might not be competing presently.
“He had a big last year, and you always worry whether they’re going to come back, a horse like him at six, rising seven,” Douglas said.
“If he hadn’t of performed last spring, we aren’t the type of people that would keep going with him, and there’s been multiple times where it’s been touch and go with him, for sure, but to see him perform as he did, it showed he’s still got that zest for racing.
“He was a bit wishy, washy in his first couple of runs back in Sydney (spring 2024) and we were wondering where he was at and then he ran really well in The Everest.
“Then again, he didn’t have the best of luck in The Goodwood and then he went up to Queensland, and it was only a fair run.
“I’m hopeful that we’ve still got another 18 months, two years, left in him, and this time I feel he’s had the ideal preparation.
“The key is keeping him in good order, feeling good, and hopefully he does the rest.”
Giga Kick boasts three victories from seven fresh starts, and Douglas pointed out valid reasons for the losses.
The gelding endured a lengthy spell from racing because of an injury coupled with minor issues impacting his fresh record.
In a recent barrier trial at Caulfield Heath, finishing runner-up to Lightning Stakes rival My Gladiola on January 29, Douglas observed the return of the familiar Giga Kick.
“The other day, he was pumped up, excited to be there,” Douglas said.
“He began fast and I haven’t seen that in him for a long time, and he’s run well up the straight on numerous occasions.
“He won there at two, he won the Danehill Stakes at three and he’s won a Champions Sprint, so I don’t think it will be a problem on Saturday.”
Saturday’s lineup features eight runners, with three-year-olds comprising over half the contestants.
Douglas relies on Giga Kick’s seasoned presence proving vital, given just six three-year-olds have claimed the Lightning Stakes across the past 25 years.
Four three-year-olds triumphed in six editions between 2000 and 2005, followed by Home Affairs edging Nature Strip by a lip in 2022 and Coolangatta succeeding the year after. Check the top Australian betting sites for Lightning Stakes action this weekend.
“He might not have a great first-up record, but he’s had the perfect prep leading into this,” Douglas said of Giga Kick.
“It’s going to be a good race, for sure.”
The post Giga Kick poised to sizzle in Black Caviar Lightning first appeared on Just Horse Racing.
