logo
Star sprinter Giga Kick handed luxury weight in Group 1 The Goodwood in Adelaide

Star sprinter Giga Kick handed luxury weight in Group 1 The Goodwood in Adelaide

News.com.au06-05-2025

How does one of the world's highest-ranked sprinters receive weight from half of his rivals in a Group 1 race?
Connections of many of Giga Kick 's rivals in The Goodwood at Morphettville would be asking the same question but Mornington trainer Clayton Douglas has the simple answer.
'Because he hasn't won a race for nearly two years, albeit he was nearly off for 12 months with an injury, he gets in so well at the weights,' Douglas said.
'It looks a very winnable race at the weights. If it was a handicap, it would be completely different.'
The Goodwood is run under set weights and penalties conditions, which led to Giga Kick having 54.5kg to carry in Saturday's edition of Adelaide's biggest sprint.
Giga Kick has the light weight despite finishing 2024 rated a point behind Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising and US sprinter Cogburn in the World's Best Racehorse Rankings.
• The Goodwood final field and barrier draw
Giga Kick won The Everest in 2022 and was narrowly beaten in last year's race but has not won since claiming the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 in 2023.
Douglas said Giga Kick was poised to return to winning ways in The Goodwood.
Giga Kick has had three jumpouts to prepare for his first start since the Group 1 Champions Sprint at Flemington last November.
Douglas said the jumpouts ensured Giga Kick would be fit enough to win over 1200m first before leaving slight improvement for his second outing of the year in Brisbane.
'He'll be hard to beat,' Douglas said.
'He's been in work a long time so I've got no issues with him over 1200m, especially on the big track at Morphettville.
'He's probably only going to have a couple of runs in this campaign.
'The next is obviously the Kingsford Smith Stakes over 1300m in Brisbane so he's got the miles in his legs, that's for sure.'
• MP pledges to keep up the fight for jumps racing at The 'Bool
Giga Kick drew barrier 12 in the 13-horse field that will tackle the $1m sprint.
Douglas said the draw would help, rather than hinder, Giga Kick's bid for a first-up win.
'That should suit him being drawn over there,' Douglas said.
'With the way Morphettville has been playing over the last few weeks, they have been getting away from the rail too.
'It's going to map perfectly.
'He'll probably amble through the first 600(m) and it will be game on from there.'
Jockey Mark Zahra will get down to 54.5kg to ride Giga Kick in The Goodwood.
Zahra dominated the Morphettville meeting on April 26, winning the Group 1 Australasian Oaks on Benagil and Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes on Charm Stone.
Ben Melham will ride Charm Stone in The Goodwood.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Joe Pride taking on Stradbroke Handicap history with Private Eye
Joe Pride taking on Stradbroke Handicap history with Private Eye

News.com.au

time11 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Joe Pride taking on Stradbroke Handicap history with Private Eye

Trainer Joe Pride isn't concerned by historical trends as he readies Private Eye for a remarkable bid to win the Group 1 $3m Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday. With the withdrawal of Giga Kick, Pride's sprinter Private Eye has 57kg and will wear the No.1 saddlecloth when he goes first-up into Queensland's premier sprint. Private Eye is attempting to become the first horse this century to win the Stradbroke as topweight and without a lead-up run. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Crawl won the 2001 Stradbroke off a 56-day break between runs but Private Eye will go to Eagle Farm having not started since his fourth behind Robusto in The Ingham at Randwick on December 14, last year – a gap of 182 days. 'Records are made to be broken and I don't think first-up is what it used to be,'' Pride said. 'I've also given Private Eye four barrier trials, I'm very happy with him, and he won't be beaten on the score of fitness.'' Giga Kick, who won the 2022 The Everest beating Private Eye, had 58.5kg in the Stradbroke but after finishing only sixth in Joliestar's Kingsford Smith Cup last Saturday, owner Jonathan Munz confirmed the chestnut is out of Saturday's big race. Munz said although Giga Kick seems to have pulled up well the gelding will undergo a thorough veterinary examination and won't run in Stradbroke. Private Eye is attempting to become the first horse to have the No.1 saddlecloth and shoulder 57kg or more to win the Stradbroke since Rough Habit scored under 58.5kg in 1992. 'His trial last Friday at Rosehill was everything I wanted to see from him. He jumped and put himself on the speed,'' said Pride, who won the Stradbroke with Think About It two years ago. 'He wanted to be there and that's the best version of Private Eye. He ran second in a Stradbroke three years ago (behind Alligator Blood) and I feel he's ready to run super again on Saturday.'' Private Eye, already the winner of $11.9m prizemoney, is on the third line at $11 of early TAB fixed odds betting for the Stradbroke behind the Team Hayes-trained War Machine at $2.80. Meanwhile, Pride said he has decided to give In Flight a short break after her tough win in the Bob Charley AO Stakes at Royal Randwick last Saturday. 'In Flight came out of the race really well but I'm going to give her eight to 10 days off,'' Pride said. 'The plan then is to take her to Melbourne for the (Group 3 $200,000) Sir John Monash Stakes at Caulfield (July 12). 'She should get the wet track she likes down there at that time of year.''

Jett Stanley out to make late grandad proud with Stradbroke Handicap victory
Jett Stanley out to make late grandad proud with Stradbroke Handicap victory

News.com.au

timea day ago

  • News.com.au

Jett Stanley out to make late grandad proud with Stradbroke Handicap victory

Jett Stanley reckons his late grandfather Jimmy will be smiling up in heaven if the Victorian jockey can win the Stradbroke Handicap. Stanley, 21, will fly up to Brisbane on Monday night in the hope that The Instructor can make the field for the $3m Stradbroke (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday. The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott -trained gelding is currently No.29 in the ballot but has a slim chance of making the field given the attrition rate, with star horses such as Joliestar and Giga Kick to skip Queensland's most prestigious race. Stanley has only ridden in one Group 1 race, last year's The Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick in October when he finished 14th on Immediacy, more than 10 lengths behind the winner Land Legend. 'It's what every jockey dreams about,' he said on Monday about potentially winning his first major. 'I've always wanted to win a Group 1, ever since I was a five-year-old kid and to be able to do it in the Stradbroke would be an unreal feeling. 'My late grandfather Jimmy always wanted me to win a Group 1 but he felt it had to be the Stradbroke. 'I don't know why, he never really told us, but to possibly have the opportunity is a great thrill in itself, especially for great trainers like Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. 'Jimmy was a jockey around the Gundagai area and won metro races in Sydney. 'He'd be up there in heaven cheering me on and everyone in my family will be watching, we're a massive racing family.' Stanley's father Brent saluted in the 1996 Caulfield Cup as a teen jockey on Arctic Scent and won the race as a trainer, while Jett's mother Paris's dad Terry Millard was also a trainer. The young hoop, who started his career in Perth under trainers Grant and Alana Williams, remembers getting paid 50 cents for cleaning out a stable during school holidays at age eight. Stanley ended his apprenticeship in April when he rode The Instructor to victory in the Listed Hareeba Stakes (1200m) at Mornington. He was aboard the gelding for his third placing in the Wagga Town Plate early last month before Adam Hyeronimus steered the galloper to victory in his last start, the Listed Luskin Star Stakes at Scone on May 17. 'Quietly, I do give him a sneaky chance,' Stanley said if The Instructor happens to land a run in the Stradbroke. 'He tries his heart out for me, no matter what race he's in and I can't be happier with all the reports that I'm getting from Queensland.' Bott has his fingers crossed that his rising star The Instructor can sneak into the Stradbroke field, adamant the four-year-old is in 'career-best form'. 'He'll get a nice light weight (52kg) and he's in the right time of his career to take advantage of it,' Bott said. 'He's deep into the prep and he's holding up with career-best form. 'Coming up to a high-pressure handicap where he's got a light weight, I think that would suit really well. 'That trip (1400m) is probably right in his sweet spot where he can be most effective.'

'One tough horse': Rothfire 'back in the game' for Stradbroke Handicap
'One tough horse': Rothfire 'back in the game' for Stradbroke Handicap

News.com.au

timea day ago

  • News.com.au

'One tough horse': Rothfire 'back in the game' for Stradbroke Handicap

There could be another remarkable twist to the Rothfire story with Rob Heathcote declaring his wonder horse is 'back in the game' in a race against time to line up in Saturday's Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap. Hopes had been low that the 'Thriller from Chinchilla' would recover from a foot injury in time to take his place in Queensland's most prestigious race. However, after working the Group 1 winner on Monday morning, Heathcote feels the courageous seven-year-old sprinter is now a decent chance of lining up in Saturday's $3m Stradbroke. 'He will of course have to pass the scrutiny of vets, but from what we saw this morning, he will,' Heathcote said. 'Rothfire was excellent this morning. 'He's done a lot of swimming and he still has to come through his Tuesday morning gallop well, but from what we saw this morning, nothing is beyond this warrior horse. 'He is one tough horse.' The foot injury to Rothfire, which flared after he turned back the clock for an amazing runner-up finish behind Sunshine In Paris in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000, was only ever minor. But Heathcote said last week that although the foot infection had broken, he had felt Rothfire remained only a 'slim' chance of lining up in his third Stradbroke. However there is now a growing sense of optimism. It is still far from ideal that Rothfire would be racing in a Stradbroke after missing a run in the Kingsford Smith Cup, but Heathcote said it wasn't a major issue. 'The Doomben 10,000 run was worth a week of fitness work and the swimming he has been doing has kept him up to the mark,' he said. 'His courage will fill in the cracks.' Too good J-Mac! He lifts Sunshine In Paris to victory in the Doomben 10,000 ðŸ'° @mcacajamez @ANeashamRacing — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025 Heathcote will not make a decision as to whether he accepts with Rothfire in the Stradbroke until after a Tuesday morning track work session. Rothfire's odds in the Stradbroke have blown out since he has been under an injury cloud and he is currently a $34 chance. Rothfire became a Group 1 champion in 2020 when he won the JJ Atkins in his two-year-old season. He has won close to $3.5m in prizemoney, despite suffering several major injury setbacks including a sesamoid fracture several years ago which had threatened to end his career.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store