Giga Kick is nearing a return to race action

Horse racing can be a fickle game. Often, when a horse has had to miss any significant time with an injury they get forgotten about as others win the big races in their absence. One who should not be forgotten is Giga Kick for Clayton Douglas. 

Giga Kick has not been seen since the McEwan at The Valley last September. Third that day over 1000m behind the mighty Imperatriz, beaten just over two and a half lengths, it was not a bad return to action but there has been no racing since. 

Douglas plans to start in the Concorde 

September 7 is the date of the Concorde this year, a month away from here. This is the planned starting point for Giga Kick on the comeback trail according to his trainer Clayton Douglas. The 1,000m contest is run at Randwick, a track that has seen Giga Kick at his best in the past. 
 
The distance of the Concorde is not what the horse really wants but it is a suitable beginning for his season. A run close to the frame is going to be a success at this stage of proceedings given his time off. Connections will surely be very happy if he runs third or fourth. 

Premiere and then the Everest if all goes well 

If things go to plan in the Concorde then the Premiere Stakes will be his next stop on October 5. Stretching out to 1200m here at Randwick has the potential to see Giga Kick in a better light with his biggest successes coming over this far and further.  
 
The date in the calendar with a big red ring around it is October 19. This is Everest Day at Randwick and all roads lead here in a best-case scenario for Giga Kick this spring. He has to show that not only is he sound enough but also still talented enough to take a slot but Douglas is adamant that he has not lost a step despite the injury-inforced layoff.  
 
There are no plans to run in Melbourne at this stage but Douglas has not ruled out his star running closer to home soil, it just is not in the original plans for the early part of the sprint prep. 

Remembering Giga Kick’s 2022/23 season 

It was only 15 months ago when Giga Kick appeared to have the sprinting world at his feet. A win in the 2022 Everest had set him up for a huge autumn in 2023 and he duly obliged, saluting with the first two Group 1 wins of his career. 
 
Fifth in the VRC Classic immediately after the Everest is the only time that he has finished outside of the first three, just three weeks after the biggest run of his life at that point was perhaps too quick for him. 
 
He would bounce back in the autumn, saluting first in the All Aged and then the Doomben 10,000. It showed his adaptability, stepping up to 1400m in the first of those on a Soft 7 track but having no issues back down at 1200m on a Good 4. 
 
At the age of five, he has only had 11 races in his life so there is the potential that we might not have seen the best of him yet. That is a worrying thought for all of his sprint rivals ahead of the spring

A torn gluteal muscle injury could have been a lot worse for Giga Kick. He will miss a full year but reports are that he will make it back onto the track this spring. A trial on August 16 at Randwick will tell the team how he is and they can expand on spring plans from there.