Surprisingly having never won an elite level race in his home state before, Clayton Douglas’ star sprinter Giga Kick added the $3m Group 1 VRC Champions Sprint (1200m) to his two previous Group 1 victories.
With the track being downgraded throughout the day and racing as a heavy nine for the first of three Group 1 races, further drama ensued before the start of the race with the late scratching of last Saturday’s Group1 Coolmore Stud Stakes-winning colt Tentyris on vet’s advice.
With Godolphin’s colt withdrawn, it now appeared a race in two with Joliestar (Zoustar) jumping the favourite with last start Group 2 Schillaci Stakes winner Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) the only other runner under double figure odds in the nine-horse field.
Anthony and Sam Freedman’s Tropicus jumpied the best and went forward, while Brad Widdup’s Group 2 winner Jedibeel (NZ) was another to travel handy, with Joliestar sitting just off their back, while Mark Zahra aboard Giga Kick tracked James McDonald aboard Chris Waller’s Joliestar.
With the entire field drifting towards the outside fence, Jedibeel was one of the first to drop off as Joliestar went forward to take the lead off Tropicus.
Coming the widest of all the runners, and closet to the outside rail, Hellbent mare Benedetta presented and looked like she was going to make a race of it, while fellow Hellbent mare Magic Time was coming along the other side of the pack to put herself into a challenge position.
Bursting through the middle of the pack, Giga Kick was travelling strongly as he and Magic Time raced away from the rest of the runners, and while it appeared to get tight in the run to the line, Giga Kick put his head down when it mattered.
With a narrow margin separating the pair on the line, Giga Kick took the prize to record his third Group1 victory, interestingly denying the Graheme Begg trained Magic Time her third.
Finishing just over a length away in third was Joliestar, with the Annabel and Rob Archibald trained Libertad finishing in fourth as the complete outsider of the field.
“Happy days,” enthused Douglas post-race. “He’s a champ this horse and I love him. It’s actually my first Melbourne Group 1 which is really special as well. It was a great ride and what a ding-dong battle it was.”
“He’s done so much for my career, and he’s taken me everywhere with Group 1 wins in Sydney and Queensland. It’s his third go at this race.
“He hasn’t had a lot of luck in other years, and it worked out perfect today. I was a little concerned with how the weather was, but I thought he would get through the conditions, and he prevailed.”
“He just fronts up; he’s an older horse. He missed 12 months with an injury. He’s done a tremendous job to get back to Group 1 level and I will be forever grateful for him.
“To win two from two starts this preparation, we aimed him for this race, and we got it done. Obviously, there was a case for an Everest again, but I really wanted to plan out that we could get this race under the belt, and it has come off.
“Champions do what champions do and he’s just a good horse. He was a young three-year-old running in the TJ Smith with I Wish I Win (on a wet track) and he seemed to handle it.
“He is such a good horse and can travel so far into a race.
“I thought we were going to run a good second, to be honest. I thought Magic Time would beat us from there. She was terrific and Grahame has done a top job getting her back from The Everest.”
With his last ride of the Carnival, jockey Mark Zhara recorded his third individual Group 1 winner of the week.
“It’s so good to see him back,” said Zahra. “It was pretty tight up the straight.”
“We were all hugged up on the outside there and it looked like Magic Time was going to hold me, but his last 50 (metres), he had a proper crack the old boy and got his head out at the right time.
“I wanted to be on the back of Joliestar but J-Mac pushed me out of the way, so I had to get Jedibeel out of the way and the gap came and I was able to squeeze through there.
“Great win, great thrill.”
“It’s been a massive week and hopefully there’s a nice bottle of champagne there for me now.”
Taking his earnings to $14,884,345, the son of Scissor Kick has won on nine occasions, coupled with further five placed performers from 19 starts.
Bred by Jonathan Munz’s GSA Bloodstock, Giga Kick is the best of eight winners from ten to the races out of the Royal Applause mare Rekindled Applause (GB), a half sister to stakes winners to Rekindled Interest, Where We Left Off and Porticcio.
Giga Kick is also a half-sister to the dam of Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes winner Alabama Express, a promising young Group 1 producing sire for Yulong.
Rekindled Applause's final foal is the now 4yo Pariah gelding Pantoja, with no mare return appearing on the Australian Stud Book for the past three seasons suggesting the mare has retired from stud duties.
It was last reported that Giga Kick’s sire Scissor Kick (Redoute’s Choice) was standing in Tunisia at a fee of approx. A$800.
