Racing
Giga Kick trials nicely at Caulfield Heath
Giga Kick showed he was on target for a first-up tilt at the Lightning Stakes with a narrow defeat in a trial at Caulfield Heath.
Trainer Clayton Douglas is looking forward to again seeing his star sprinter Giga Kick on centre stage at Flemington during the upcoming Autumn Carnival.
Giga Kick is set to resume in the Group 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m) on February 14, his first outing since taking out the Group 1 Champions Sprint (1200m) at Flemington in November.
The six-year-old headed to Caulfield Heath on Thursday morning with new jockey Ethan Brown in the saddle and was just touched out by My Gladiola in an 800m trial.
Douglas liked what he saw, with Brown giving the trainer a glowing report.
"It was nice work and he looked nice and fresh and well in himself," Douglas said.
"Brownie gave him a good report. He said he began good, travelled nice and strong and finished off lovely.
"That will bring him on now. It's two weeks to the Lightning which should be perfect timing for him.
"He won first-up last prep off one jump-out and we're going in with the same idea.
"We've kept him together and he's moving terrific. They'll know he's in the race first-up."
Giga Kick had just the two runs last campaign, winning the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield first-up before taking out the Champions Sprint.
Giga Kick means so much to Clayton Douglas and you can see why. The star sprinter looked bright and well at the trials on Thursday morning towards the G1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes at Flemington on February 14.
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There had been an intention to travel Giga Kick to Perth for Group 3 The Gold Rush (1400m) the following month after the Champions Sprint success, but Douglas and the team behind the sprinter felt it might jeopardise his autumn campaign.
"Timing wise it didn't work," Douglas said.
"I had to get to Perth and then get back. We liked the idea of possibly getting there, but he performed so well in his two runs that I wanted to give him a bit of a breather and aim him up at a nice autumn.
"The autumn maps really well for him. A weight-for-age sprinter like him, he can finish off his preparation at 1400 metres, which he's won at before.
"It's a nice prep and we've had a really nice preparation so far."
Following the Lightning Stakes, Douglas is looking at the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on March 7 and the Group 1 T J Smith Stakes (1200m) at the same track four weeks later.
The Group 1 All-Aged Stakes (1400m), a race Giga Kick won as a three-year-old, is likely to see an end to the gelding's autumn campaign.
"He was late in last spring whereas this year it maps that can be in much earlier," Douglas said.
"This way it gives us more options looking to the spring.
"The spring is still seven or eight months away, but you've already got to start thinking about that second prep."
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