Does 1000m just simply not suit Giga Kick?

By Connor Scanlon

After finishing 10th in the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) on Saturday, Giga Kick has now extended his disappointing record at the distance.

Now, from seven starts, the son of Scissor Kick has only won one race at 1000m, and that came in his first ever attempt at the distance as a two-year-old.

In fact, if you remove those 1000m races from the seven-year-old’s record, he boasts a winning percentage of 47.06 per cent, with a record of eight wins from 17 runs.

So the question begs: Does 1000m just simply not suit Giga Kick?

On RSN’s Correct Weight, Nick & Trav Noonan were adamant the chestnut just can’t hack the short distance at this stage in his career.

Nick: “Giga Kick, 1000m just doesn't seem his go at all these days as an old horse.

“I think he needs high pressure 1200m races to really be at his best.”

Trav: “I was very surprised by some of the market moves and even the commentary pre-race from form analysts that he was going to be suited to 1000m.

“We've seen throughout his whole career that 1000m just happens too fast for him!

“I don't think you give up on him just on that first-up run, but it was an indication that 1000m at this stage of his career is just too short.”

Trav continued by exclaiming he believes 1400m is actually the Clayton Douglas-trained horse's best go despite the gelding only running at that distance on two occasions, coming in the 2023 & 2026 Group 1 All Aged Stakes.

“I genuinely believe his best distance is actually 1400m,” stated Trav.

“I know he's raced at 1400m only on a few occasions. His best ever performance from a ratings figure is actually when he won in the All Aged Stakes as a three-year-old beating Zaaki.

“I think this is probably the campaign where Clayton will be looking at those 1200m contests and potentially even the 1400m of the Orr at the back end of the spring.”

Nick also believes that the 2022 Everest winner will be in contention for the world’s richest sprint on turf again this year, explaining that a slot holder should select him purely on trust.

“I think you've got to take him on trust once he gets back up to 1200m, and I would assume he's still well in Everest calculations,” admitted Nick.

“I think he'll be there. I think he probably goes to the Manikato (1200m) then into an Everest (1200m).

“You'd be mad not to pick him (for The Everest) off the body of work he's done the last three years.”

When looking at the market for The Everest, Giga Kick holds an outside price of $26 with Sportsbet, but for the C.F. Orr Stakes he is placed at $8.