The Everest champion Giga Kick was only the width of a cannula away from being euthanised as a yearling before a remarkable tale of survival was capped at Randwick on Saturday.
Giga Kick is an unbeaten superstar after five racetrack appearances, earning more than $6.5 million in the process, but a vicious colic attack could have ended his story before it started.
“It was one of worst cases of colic I have seen,” Mike Fleming of Bhima Thoroughbreds said. “We tried to get a cannula into him [to start the euthansia process], but he was so bad it wouldn’t go in.
“We gave him an injection to sedate him and medicated him to make him comfortable, and just sat with him in his box. If we had been able to get the cannula in, we probably euthanise him because he was so sick.
“It was amazing. A couple of hours later, he just stood up. I thought, ‘You’re one tough bugger’.”
There would be several other punctuation points on the journey to The Everest, where Giga Kick could easily have been wearing different silks to those of Jonathan Munz’s famous red and stripes.
Giga Kick remains unbeaten as he takes out The Everest at Randwick on Saturday. Credit:Getty
He was catalogued to be sold at the low-key Scone Yearling Sale, before being withdrawn. Once he made the track, a couple of approaches from Asia were made, the highest worth $2.5 million.
The Everest is a race for millionaires and hardened sprinters. Giga Kick will only turn three by his birth date on Wednesday. His breeding is Scissor Kick, a stallion which calls Tunisia home now after failing to be commercial in Australia, out of a now-retired 21-year-old mare, Rekindling Applause.
“The mare is from one of Jonathan’s best families and it’s great to see her get a star,” said Rod Douglas, who has been Munz’s racing manager for more than 20 years.
“We have had an Everest favourite in Shoals before, and she won three group 1 races, but this horse in five starts might have become his best-ever horse.”
Back on the farm, apart from his brush with death, there was little remarkable about Giga Kick.
“We don’t have any photos of him as a young horse because he was a disappointing type,” Fleming said. “When it came time to go to the sales, it was decided he would go the Scone sale. But in the end they choose to keep him as a racehorse, so we didn’t get the professional photos taken. He has turned into something quite special.”
Munz breeds up to 50 horses a year, and Giga Kick would have been at the bottom of the list on pedigree. He was on his way to the Scone Sale until bloodstock agent Dean Hawthorne had a look at him at Easter last year.
He decided that $10,000 might be too cheap for the son of Scissor Kick that had grown into a likely type.
“He is lucky to be alive,” said Douglas. “Dean just said keep him because he was developing the right way. We thought he would win a race or two. He is unbeaten in five starts and won the biggest race in the country. It was a good decision.”
Munz spread his horses across some of the biggest trainers in the country, but they couldn’t find room for Giga Kick, who had been gelded, so Douglas sent him to nephew Clayton to be prepared.
Only two years into his training career, Douglas, with his 27th winner, joined elite company of Peter and Paul Snowden, Les Bridge and Chris Waller in winning The Everest on Saturday.
Munz, who was in New York on Saturday, loves to race his stock and it is rare to get a talent like Giga Kick, so when a series of offers from Asia came they were met with the same response – no.
“They come after he won a trial with $300,000. We said no because Jonathan wants to race horses,” Douglas continued. “After he won the Vain Stakes there was $2.5 million on table, and again this week they came with more.
“I said, ‘You have to be kidding. he’s running in The Everest on the weekend’, and added he is not for sale. Jonathan wants to race these horses and he is going to get to enjoy this bloke for a long time.
“I don’t know where we go from here, but it doesn’t get much better than winning The Everest. We will go to the Coolmore Stud Stakes on Derby day, but it can’t match this day. This has been unbelievable.
“We just have to do it again next year now.”
