Chris Waller joked his champion Nature Strip might have to beat the next Black Caviar, as he looks to turn the tables on unbeaten three-year-old Giga Kick in Saturday’s Champion Sprint at Flemington.
But neither Waller nor Giga Kick’s trainer Clayton Douglas were ready to concede defeat on the eve of their Everest rematch.
Is Giga Kick the next Black Caviar?Credit:Brook Mitchell
Douglas said he saw no reason why Giga Kick couldn’t win again, having notched his fifth win from as many starts in Sydney’s rich sprint where Nature Strip failed to run in the placings.
“He keeps going to the next level and if he turns up there Saturday, he’s going to be very hard to beat,” Douglas said of his own horse.
“We’ll ride him the way we normally ride him. We’ve got to respect all our opposition; outside of Nature Strip it’s still a very good race, it’s a proper group 1 this race. He’s won twice down the straight, so he’s quite adapt to this track, and he goes there in really good order.”
But Waller said he was out to seek revenge.
“In Australia we talk up our good horses and people respect your last run, and we were beaten in our last run,” he said.
“Clayton’s horse has done a great job, it’s unbeaten, it could be the next Black Caviar.
“It’s good form lines coming together, and I’m sure they’ll all be wary of Nature Strip and how good he is up the straight, but you’ve still got to go out there and prove it.”
Asked whether he expected Nature Strip – a $1.90 favourite – to win on Saturday, Waller said: “He’ll be very hard to beat, it’s as simple as that.”
Everest winner Giga Kick will take on Nature Strip down the Flemington straight.Credit:Getty
“He runs a great race every time, but you’ve got to respect it’s 1200 metres, and you can’t go flat out the whole way.”
Waller said his eight-year-old champion had shown no signs of weariness, despite his jam-packed calendar year, which has included a triumphant victory at Royal Ascot in June.
“I was very happy with his run in the Everest,” Waller said.
“Going into the race he was fine. Normally, you see if they were flat they come out of it flat, but he’s been bouncing ever since, so I have no regrets or hesitations, I wouldn’t change anything over the past six months.”
But Douglas is dreaming of a group 1 win, and success in Saturday Champions Sprint would add another feather to the rising trainer’s cap.
“To get that group 1 status alongside my name at such a young age would be a great achievement for myself and obviously, my horse,” Douglas said.
“He’s a class horse and I well and truly noted that going into the Everest. I wasn’t shy to say this horse wasn’t just making the numbers up. I think I said I was telling people, and they weren’t listening, so I’m glad I came out on top for that one. He’s a seriously good animal, and he shows it on his record.
“I’m really pleased with where I’ve got him for tomorrow and there’ll be no excuses from my end.”
Waller has 12 runners at Saturday’s Flemington meeting, including import Soulcombe in the Queen’s Cup, who shapes as a potential Melbourne Cup runner in a year’s time.
“He’s been winning very impressively in the UK,” Waller said.
“I’m fortunate enough to be training the horse after the ownership group has been changed.
“He looks like an exciting horse for Australian horse, to step up and continue to grow over the next 12 months in particular. Saturday is a stepping stone.
“He gets back in his races and has got an amazing finish, and a big engine to drive him. He really is a good horse, and we’ll see where he fits in on Saturday.”
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