The popularity of Zaaki will decide what price punters get about The Everest winner Giga Kick as All Aged Stakes favourite at Randwick on Saturday.
TAB’s Glenn Munsie is in no doubt that Giga Kick will start favourite over the Randwick 1400m in the final group 1 race of the carnival, but his price has ranged from $3.60 to $2.80 in the past week and could get longer by Saturday.
Giga Kick will start favourite for the All Aged Stakes but punters could get a lot better than $3 because of Zaaki.Credit: Getty
“It is usually the support for the favourite that shapes any market, and there are people who will be happy to be with Giga Kick no matter what,” Munsie said. “You can see that from the way betting ebbs and flows on him. If it dries out he will be favourite, even going to the 1400m for the first time.
“However, Zaaki is one of the most popular horses in the country, and he sits there as the second pick in betting with James McDonald in the saddle.
“I can see them a lot closer in betting than the $6 and $3 they are now come Saturday, because of support for Zaaki because he is proven at 1400m fresh.”
Giga Kick stayed at Randwick after his narrow defeat by I Wish I Win in the TJ Smith a fortnight ago, and trainer Clayton Douglas is keen to get a marker about running 1400m with a view to the future.
While a return to defend his Everest crown will be the main goal in the spring, there is also the $10 million Golden Eagle as an option for the elite sprinter.
“It is a good time to find out if he can run 1400m at this level because that would open up a number of options for him,” Douglas said. “He is going really well but we need a soft track rather heavy.
“I’m not worried about him at 1400m because he has always been strong at the end of 1200m with that big finish.
“He will probably be closer at 1400m, which can only help him.”
Giga Kick has yet to win a group 1 race and has not returned to the winner’s circle since winning The Everest. It could be argued that his fifth in the VRC Sprint Classic, third in the Challenge Stakes and second in the TJ Smith were performances the equal of his Everest win.
“He has found trouble ever since the Everest. He stumbled at the start of the Challenge and did a great job to get as close as he did over 1000m,” Douglas said. “In the TJ he didn’t get a clean run, and it still took a good one to beat him with a late charge.
“Even as an Everest winner, it would be good to see him get that group 1 win, which would establish him as one of the best sprinters in the country.”
