All Aged Stakes (Group 1)

LAST October’s Everest winner Giga Kick landed his first Group 1 win in Saturday’s All Aged Stakes at Randwick.

Stretched to 1,400 metres for the first time, the gelded Scissor Kick three-year-old was more than up to the challenge, dropping four-time Group 1 winner Zaaki with 200 metres remaining to post a two-length win over the Leroidesanimaux gelding as the ever reliable Cascadian, by New Approach, ran home strongly to take third.

The win was Giga Kick’s sixth in nine career starts, nudging his earnings to just dollars off A$8.7 million, placing him 13th on the all-time prize money list for Australian racehorses.

“There is a touch of freak about Giga Kick,” said the horse’s trainer Clayton Douglas. “He rounded them up like a very good horse today and it’s great to think I have that Group 1 next to my name now.

“This horse is so good I could train him for a Cox Plate and he could probably win it. But he’s such a brilliant sprinter and it is all about being back at Randwick in October for The Everest.

No fluke

“There were some people thinking The Everest win was a bit of a fluke, but he’s proven this campaign he can mix it with the best weight-for-age sprinters. There were nine Group 1 winners in the race and he made them look second-rate,” Douglas added.

Douglas is now considering taking Giga Kick onto Brisbane for the A$1.5 million Group 1 Doomben 10,000 on May 13th.

“A month between runs will suit us. It’s 1,200 metres and it sounds like the right race,” he added. Raced by Jonathan Munz, Giga Kick’s win completed a Group 1 breeding double for Munz as he also bred the Champagne Stakes winner Militarize who he sold for A$550,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Moet & Chandon Champagne Stakes (Group 1)

THE win of the Dundeel colt Militarize in last Saturday’s Group 1 Champagne Stakes over 1,600 metres at Randwick has completed the juvenile Triple Crown for the Chris Waller stable.

Militarize added the Champagne Stakes to his win two weeks earlier in the Sires’ Produce Stakes over 1,400 metres, with the stable having already landed the Golden Slipper Stakes over 1,200 metres with the Coolmore-owned Shinzo a month ago.

“As you can tell, it makes me a little bit emotional,” said Waller of the achievement. “We haven’t done anything differently, just looked after this great crop of two-year-olds, and they’ve looked after us.

“He was in a class of his own (Militarize), in my opinion. He was three-wide today, didn’t have any cover. Joao (Moreira) didn’t panic. The most exciting part is we haven’t pushed him yet.

“The support we get from owners in general - Arrowfield, Coolmore, Yulong, I’m embarrassed to say it, but we train for all the main studs, and I’m very grateful to be in that position.”

Having sat three-wide in the run, Militarize came from mid-field in the 10 strong field to overpower Bases Loaded who was trying to lead all the way.

Charging to the front, Militarize won by two lengths from the Deep Field colt Bases Loaded with another Dundeel colt, Townsend, running third. Both the first and second horses were owned by Newgate Bloodstock and China Horse Club Racing led syndicates, as well as the fifth and sixth-placed horses.

Star jockey Joao Moreira rode a treble for Chris Waller on the day, winning the Group 3 Carr Stakes on Olentia before closing out the meeting in the last with a win on Democracy Manifest.

“He’s an amazing trainer. He just gets his horses to be able to bring their A-game most of the time,” said Moreira of riding for Waller.

Pressed on whether he would stay on in Australia, Moreira responded with: “I’ve been getting that question very often. Of course, whenever he runs again (Militarize) I would love to come back. It’s something that we’re going to talk about.”

OVER in Perth, the Bjorn Baker-trained Overpass took out the inaugural running of the Western Australia’s first slot race The Quokka.

Worth A$4 million, and held over 1,200 metres at Ascot racecourse, Overpass, with Josh Parr up, found the early lead and made all the running with the race favourite Amelia’s Jewel having to settle at the tail after jumping from the outside gate 14.

Despite the disadvantage, the Siyouni filly trained by Simon Miller made an incredible run for the line to fail by the barest of margins.

“I thought she got us, actually, without knowing the track, you can’t get carried away until the number goes up,” said Baker of his Vancouver four-year-old.

“He (Overpass) kept kicking, that’s what he can do. When he’s good he keeps going, going, going and he was able to fend them off.”

Third was the Pride Of Dubai mare Bella Nipotina. The win was the sixth from 21 starts for Overpass who has now banked A$3.69 million having been bought for $75,000 from the second round of the 2020 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

TOM Sherry fans had an early win at Randwick on Saturday. Aboard the Pride Of Dubai mare Mayrose for trainer John Sargeant, the pair saluted at $26, posting a comfortable one and half length win in the third race.

The win was the Dublin-born jockey’s ninth on metropolitan tracks this season, while on the provincial circuit, he is equal eighth on the Premiership with 21 wins.

Bates with the best at Morphettville

THERE was another group win for an Irish jockey as Declan Bates combined with Ciaron Maher and David Eustace to win the Group 3 Auraria Stakes for three-year-olds at Morphettville on board the favourite Jennilala, a daugher of Shalaa.