Blencowe: Giga Kick deserves to be our best sprinter

By Connor Scanlon & Andrew Slevison

Giga Kick could well be the best sprinter in Australia right now.

The Clayton Douglas-trained six-year-old gelding was triumphant in last Saturday’s Group 1 Champions Sprint (1200m) on a Heavy 9 track at Flemington.

That race has not exactly rated through the roof given how wet it was, but that shouldn’t take away from what ‘Giga’ has achieved in his career to date.

It was a third Group 1 victory, adding to the Doomben 10,000 and All Aged Stakes in 2023, as well as the 2022 Everest before it was classed as a G1.

Form analyst at Racing and Sports, Adam Blencowe, believes Giga Kick’s CV makes him the best short course horse in the country right at this moment.

“I think he deserves to be seen as our best at the moment,” Blencowe said on SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up.

“The rating on Saturday isn’t as good as the peak ratings. It’s not as good as Tentyris in the Coolmore, not as good as Briasa’s peak this season, and Jimmysstar has certainly got peaks above him.

“I think Jimmy is probably the one that people would say, ‘Well, I think he’s our best sprinter at the moment’.

“But even with his (Giga Kick’s) ratings a little bit below he’s racking up a few CV fillers, putting a Champions Sprint in there, and he does have the Everest win in the bag.

“When we say best I’m thinking a bit deeper than just peak rating the other day. I’m thinking body of work.”

Blencowe believes Giga Kick’s body of work has him on top of all the others at this point in time.

“At the moment, if they’re all leaning on the bar, Giga Kick is kind of looking at them going, ‘Oh yeah, you’re the best sprinter in town are you? You’ve won a Russell Balding have you… well I’ve won an Everest. I’ve been there and done the things. You’re waxing about having run third in an Everest and showing early speed, did you? Good on you mate’,” he added.

“‘I’ve pocketed one of those, and an All Aged, and now I’ve added a Champions (Sprint) in front of a whooping crowd who clearly love me’.

“That’s a bigger moment than a few of those have had.

“Last-start ratings, sure, Jimmy has got a bit of an edge and even Tentyris has got more zing in his most recent rating.

“But with the runs on the board, to use the word best in its truest sense, I think we can call Giga Kick the best sprinter. It’s a muddling group at the moment, that’s probably why.

“Because we don’t have an outstanding one, we’ve got lots of very good ones, I think we can have that debate. In that debate I’ll stump up for Giga.”

Fresh off his Champions Sprint win, Douglas confirmed on Monday that Giga Kick will head to Perth for the Ascot Carnival.

Douglas revealed that he won’t back his fan favourite up in the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m) on Saturday at Caulfield but instead prepare him for the plane ride over to Western Australia.

“That track was quite deteriorated on Saturday, so I won’t back him up this Saturday,” Douglas revealed on SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up.

“We’ll stay out of that seeing as he put in a big effort (in the Champions Sprint).

“The flight is next week for Perth, so we’ll set him up this week.

“As long as I’m happy with him over the weekend, we’ll head over to Perth.”

When asked about which races the son of Scissor Kick will run in, Douglas replied with two races worth $1.5 million - the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) and potentially the Group 3 Gold Rush (1400m).

“He’ll head towards the Winterbottom,” Giga Kick’s trainer said.

“Obviously, it’s a three-week gap between the runs which is perfect.

“Then obviously the two weeks after that is the 1400m (Gold Rush), which we know he’s really good at the 1400m as well.

“So, he’ll potentially have the two runs, maybe just one, we’ll see how things pan out.

“I always look after him and take each run as they come.”

Giga Kick is currently $3 with Sportsbet to win both the Winterbottom Stakes and the Gold Rush.