Giga Kick Geared Up for 2026 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes Thriller

A different outcome in the spring might have sidelined Giga Kick from embarking on yet another racing venture starting at Flemington.

On Saturday, the Group 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m) initiates Giga Kick’s campaign, after which the speedster will proceed to Sydney to press on with autumn targets.

Trainer Clayton Douglas described Giga Kick’s recent campaign as the smoothest in ages and remains optimistic about the gelding replicating the dominance of his two flawless spring appearances last year.

Preceding those were a tough run in Adelaide’s The Goodwood during May and a middling performance in Brisbane’s Kingsford Smith Cup the subsequent month, leading Douglas to suggest the horse might have been done without the spring heroics.

“He had a big last year, and you always worry whether they’re going to come back, a horse like him at six, rising seven,” Douglas said.

“If he hadn’t of performed last spring, we aren’t the type of people that would keep going with him, and there’s been multiple times where it’s been touch and go with him, for sure, but to see him perform as he did, it showed he’s still got that zest for racing.

“He was a bit wishy, washy in his first couple of runs back in Sydney (spring 2024) and we were wondering where he was at and then he ran really well in The Everest.

“Then again, he didn’t have the best of luck in The Goodwood and then he went up to Queensland, and it was only a fair run.

“I’m hopeful that we’ve still got another 18 months, two years, left in him, and this time I feel he’s had the ideal preparation.

“The key is keeping him in good order, feeling good, and hopefully he does the rest.”

The gelding has triumphed thrice in seven first-up races, according to Douglas, who cited credible explanations for the reversals.

An extended layoff stemmed from injury and various niggling problems, which dented his resuming ledger.

A Caulfield Heath gallop on January 29, where he ran second to Lightning Stakes foe My Gladiola, convinced Douglas that Giga Kick’s prime form had resurfaced.

“The other day, he was pumped up, excited to be there,” Douglas said.

“He began fast and I haven’t seen that in him for a long time, and he’s run well up the straight on numerous occasions.

“He won there at two, he won the Danehill Stakes at three and he’s won a Champions Sprint, so I don’t think it will be a problem on Saturday.”

Eight horses are slated for Saturday, featuring three-year-olds in the majority.

Douglas places faith in Giga Kick’s maturity, especially since only six three-year-olds have won the Lightning Stakes over the last 25 editions.

Between 2000 and 2005 saw four such victories in six races, Home Affairs by a whisker over Nature Strip in 2022, and Coolangatta in 2023. Bettors have plenty to consider in the racing betting markets for the Lightning Stakes.

“He might not have a great first-up record, but he’s had the perfect prep leading into this,” Douglas said of Giga Kick.

“It’s going to be a good race, for sure.”

The post Giga Kick poised to sizzle in Black Caviar Lightning first appeared on Just Horse Racing.