The Everest winner Giga Kick and his fresh-faced trainer Clayton Douglas quietly slipped out of Sydney just after 6pm on Monday – and were already plotting another potential showdown with sprint king Nature Strip.
Giga Kick caused a boilover on Saturday when he stormed home late to win the $15m feature from Private Eye and Mazu, with odds-on favourite Nature Strip fourth.
Douglas had originally planned to run Giga Kick against the three-year-olds in the Coolmore Stud Stakes on Saturday week, but refused to rule out waiting an extra week for the Champion Sprint (1200m) where Nature Strip was likely to run.
Even though he does not officially turn three by birth date until Wednesday, young upstart Giga Kick will be entitled to challenge Nature Strip for the title of Australia’s best sprinter should he upstage Chris Waller’s globetrotter a second time.
A return to Sydney in the autumn for the TJ Smith Stakes, a race Nature Strip has won the past three years, is the long-range goal for Giga Kick.
The 27-year-old Douglas, who sounded fairly fresh after weekend celebrations that wound up in the early hours of Sunday, channelled his inner Tommy Woodcock of Phar Lap fame by planning to accompany Giga Kick on the float all the way back to Melbourne.
Trainer Clayton Douglas leads Giga Kick to his float for the trip to Melbourne yesterday eveningCredit:Wolter Peeters
As for his next start, Douglas told the Herald and The Age about his unbeaten gelding: “Nature Strip is likely to go to that weight-for-age race on the last Saturday of the carnival, we’re likely to go to the Coolmore, but if we decide we want to give him another week, there’s a chance we’ll take on Nature Strip again.
“The three-year-old race is a set-weights race, and with his rating now he’d be very well handicapped and hard to beat. If we’re happy with him he’ll run in the Coolmore Stud Stakes.
“If not we’ll wait a week and take on Nature Strip. We’re more than happy to do that again. I’ll make the call Saturday after he does a piece of work. The horse has pulled up a treat after the weekend, that’s the main thing.”
Under weight-for-age conditions, Giga Kick would meet Nature Strip half a kilo worse in the Champions Sprint.
The Everest trophy is loaded onto the float.Credit:Wolter Peeters
Nature Strip remains an outside chance of running in the race named in his honour, the Nature Strip Stakes, over 1300m at Rosehill on Saturday week.
Giga Kick boarded a float with a pony, Franky, who keeps the chestnut calm on long road trips.
Jockey Craig Williams, who ditched the Caulfield Cup meeting to stick with Giga Kick, said he had faith in whatever decision Douglas made.
“I’m happy to ride the horse wherever they run him,” Williams said. “Clayton knows the horse so well, and he’s doing an amazing job with this horse. Good horses aren’t given, they are developed and made, and that’s exactly what Clayton is doing with this horse.”
For the record, Williams’ own Everest celebrations featured dinner at Sokyo at The Star – he is a teetotaller – then a few hours watching race replays, as well as the Ascot meeting where Baaeed bowed out of racing with his first career loss.
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