Latest news with #GigaKick
News.com.au
17-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Trainer Joe Pride's grand campaigner Private Eye is no longer sprinting towards prizemoney top 10
Trainer Joe Pride has made the honest appraisal that Private Eye's days of contesting The Everest are behind him. Private Eye, who is on the verge of breaking into the all-time top 10 prizemoney earners after his close third in the Stradbroke Handicap last Saturday, is a rising eight-year-old and Pride believes the gelding is looking for longer race distances now. 'I think his pure sprinting days are over, he is not as sharp as he used to be,'' Pride said. 'He's more of a 'miler' these days. It's funny because after he won the Queensland Guineas as a three-year-old Brenton Avdulla said we should push on to the Derby. 'But then he got faster and became a sprinter. It seems he's reverting to what he was as a younger horse.'' Private Eye won the Group 1 Epsom Handicap over the Randwick mile course as a four-year-old but then developed into one of the nation's best sprinters, contesting three successive The Everests for a second to Giga Kick in 2022, a third behind stablemate Think About It in 2023, then his close sixth to Bella Nipotina last year. But Pride's evergreen equine star continues to be competitive at the highest level with his Stradbroke placing taking his career earnings to $12,217,185 and 11th on the prizemoney rankings, moving above Think About It ($12,163,050). Private Eye will get his chance to break into the top 10 in spring with Pride looking at a possible return in the Group 1 $1 million Winx Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on August 23. 'He won't have long off and I will have a think about the Missile Stakes (August 9) but maybe we go straight to the Winx Stakes fresh,'' Pride said. 'If he gets into the top 10 prizemoney earners, it will be a great achievement for the horse but it probably doesn't mean what it used to with the exaggerated levels of prizemoney these days. 'But he's done a great job during his career, he's been racing at Group level for five seasons now and is still holding his own.'' Pride said a race like the Group 1 $5 million King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Royal Randwick on Everest Day, October 18, was a more likely spring goal for Private Eye. This is also the target for stablemate Ceolwulf, who won the Epsom Handicap-King Charles Group 1 double over the famous Randwick mile course last spring. Ceolwulf won the Neville Sellwood Stakes then was spelled after finishing fifth to champion Via Sistina in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes during autumn but is back in work at Pride's Warwick Farm stables and is also being readied for a comeback in the Winx Stakes. Epsom winner Ceolwulf with a huge run wins the G1 King Charles III Stakes in front of a record crowd at Randwick! @PrideRacing | @SchofieldChad @aus_turf_club | @WorldPool — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) October 19, 2024 'I'm really happy with how Ceolwulf spelled, he looks great,'' Pride said. 'At this stage we have either the King Charles or the Cox Plate as his main goal, I don't think he can run in both being just a week apart. 'That is one of the holes in the program because you want to see the best horses clashing. 'When I was getting into racing in the late 1980s, you watched Vo Rogue, Super Impose and Better Loosen Up racing against each other all the time because they were the only weight-for-age races. 'But these days there is so many choices and so many races to choose from for these top horses.'' Pride said there were various options for Ceolwulf including going to Melbourne later in the spring or staying in Sydney for an extended campaign. 'If Ceolwulf runs in the King Charles, then we have the option of going to Melbourne for either the Champions Mile or Champions Stakes, or he stays home and could even go to the Five Diamonds,'' Pride said. Civic Stakes (1400m) with Accredited, Cool Jakey, Estadio Mestalla and Headley Grange.
News.com.au
09-06-2025
- Sport
- 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.''
News.com.au
06-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Giga Kick trainer Clayton Douglas queries Joliestar ‘best horse' tag in Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup
Clayton Douglas has heard it … but he won't cop it. 'I know everyone keeps saying Joliestar is the best horse in the race, but I don't know how they work that out?' Douglas queried. 'I think it's fairly evident that Giga Kick is, he's won an Everest. What he has done is amazing. 'Yeah, Joliestar is a good mare. But I think Giga Kick should be held at least in the same regard as her. 'I would be thinking she would have to run past us to beat us, although we will wait and see. 'Tactics will be a big thing on Saturday.' • 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! So sets the tone for a thrilling clash between the two betting fancies in Saturday's Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup which was rescheduled from a washed out Eagle Farm card seven days earlier. Bookies have pencilled it in as pretty much a clash in two. Joliestar, who counts this year's Newmarket Handicap among her two Group 1 wins and $3.9m in prizemoney, is the $2.30 favourite. Giga Kick, also boasting two Group 1 wins but also an epic triumph in the 2022 The Everest as well as $12.8m in prizemoney in the bank, is the second pick at $4. • Giga Kick does have the points against Joliestar from last year's Everest, with Giga Kick finishing runner-up and Joliestar seventh although admittedly racing without much luck. Both have had to cool their jets for an extra seven days after last Saturday's postponement. Giga Kick has not raced for a month since resuming when he was a victim of circumstances, finishing third in the Group 1 Goodwood in Adelaide when he was the $2.10 favourite. Douglas isn't fazed by the Kingsford Smith Cup racing seven days late and said Giga Kick had an important track gallop at Doomben on Wednesday. 'There were horses galloping on the course proper at Eagle Farm on Tuesday but I thought it was better waiting an extra day to gallop at Doomben when things had dried out a bit more,' Douglas said. 'I was able to get a really good gallop into him as well, he worked terrific. 'I don't think the increased gap between runs is any problem for him at all. 'This looks a really good race for him.' Win or lose on Saturday at Eagle Farm, it is likely Giga Kick will be on his way to the spelling paddock next week rather than the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap. With Giga Kick weighted with 58.5kg in the Stradbroke and now having to back-up to compete in Queensland's most prestigious race, a Stradbroke mission may not be probable. But the Giga Kick camp paid up at the latest round of Stradbroke acceptances this week and Douglas says he has left the window slightly ajar. 'If he was absolutely no chance for the Stradbroke, we wouldn't have accepted in the latest round of acceptances,' Douglas said. 'We probably just accepted just in case something interesting happened. 'But we will just wait and see. 'We are leaving our options open until after Saturday.'
News.com.au
30-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
No Frankie, no worries for Giga Kick in Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup mission
No Frankie, no worries. Giga Kick and his trusty sidekick, Frankie the pint-sized pony, have been the Batman and Robin of the Australian racing scene. Little Frankie was originally purchased about a decade ago by Giga Kick's owner Jonathan Munz for his sons Albert and Alex. Frankie and Giga Kick are rarely seen without each other and in recent years Frankie has been the star racehorse's constant travelling companion. But Frankie hasn't made the trip to Brisbane for his great mate's Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) mission. 'Giga Kick flew up this time, so Frankie didn't make the trip,' Giga Kick's trainer Clayton Douglas said. 'It's the first time he has been away without Frankie. 'Hopefully it's not a jinx, we will see on Saturday.' While there is no Frankie to keep Giga Kick company, there is a growing sense of confidence from the Giga Kick camp that the elite sprinter could be getting back to some of his three-year-old form which saw him become an Everest champion in 2022. The multiple Group 1 -winner may have been beaten first-up when the conditions of the Group 1 Goodwood in Adelaide should have suited him. But little went to plan and although he didn't win – and hasn't won for two years – Douglas was happy with what he saw when Giga Kick surged late for third behind Reserve Bank. The 3YO colt has now won three races in a row ðŸ'' @MickPriceRacing @jamieleekah07 — (@Racing) May 10, 2025 * Callow to miss Derby after jockey altercation Newmarket Handicap champion Joliestar is the $3 favourite for the Kingsford Smith but Douglas points out Giga Kick ($5) beat her home in The Everest last year. 'Joliestar is going to start favourite and rightly so, but if Giga Kick had even luck and won the other day in Adelaide, what price would he be?' Douglas said. 'The last time we met Joliestar, we beat her in The Everest. 'It seems like we could get a bit of rain on Saturday and I'm not concerned about that, I think it will be suitable for him. 'Giga Kick's last preparation was a bit of a wait and see prep with him and it was good that he was able to perform in The Everest (finishing runner-up to Bella Nipotina) the way he did. 'The horse is now in even better condition and his body is moving great. 'Whether we are going to see the three-year-old sort of form from him that we once saw, I hope so, but it is hard to say. 'One thing I do know is he's going to be more than competitive on Saturday.' All runners in the Kingsford Smith Cup, as well as the Group 1 Queensland Derby, were trotted up in front of vets on Friday and cleared to start.
News.com.au
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Punters – Hold All Tickets Ep 38 – $7 best bet
Lamby is back in the host chair, joined by Adam and James Molony - the former bringing a $7 best bet to the table. Two racecallers feature in the Self-trumpeter votes, while the guys also discuss Storm Boy, Antino, the Rosehill sale and Giga Kick. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:02 Self Trumpeters 05:30 Recap 07:43 G1 Top Tips 11:26 Adam's Best Bets 14:07 James Molony's Best Bets 18:04 James Lamb's best bet 20:00 Yay or Neighs 27:25 Outro
