Saturday preview: Clash of returning All Aged winners to light up Randwick

Cover image courtesy of Sportpix

All Aged plots path back to Everest for Giga

A third go in the G1 The Everest would be in the sights of trainer Clayton Douglas if Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) can deliver in the G1 All Aged Stakes on Saturday. The 6-year-old won the Everest in 2022 and returned to run a close second to Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) in 2024. In the year in between, he won the All Aged.

“He’s probably still among the top five sprinters in the country,’’ Douglas told the Racing NSW press on Friday.

“I’d probably race him in gumboots if they gave me the opportunity. If we could run him in three Everests, he’s a winner and run second and he tends to peak that time of year, it’d be great.

“Obviously his form needs to warrant it, there’s some nice races in Melbourne through the spring that could be suitable leading into an Everest this time around.”

Giga Kick finished second in his most recent start in the G1 TJ Smith Stakes to Joliestar (Zoustar), and Douglas said that the run had the gelding primed to deliver over the 1400 metres.

“I’m rapt with the horse, I think he’s probably been a bit forgotten looking at the price of him,” he said. “It’s a good sized field which I think is suitable. I like the idea of Beiwacht drawn well and he’s going to go forward and hopefully there’s a bit of pressure there.

“Two weeks into 1400 metres is perfect, his fitness is spot on, we’d love a bit of cut in the ground but he still performs on any surface. He’s going to be hard to beat.”

He will have to contest with the returns of the last two winners of the Group 1 event, Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}) and Magic Time (Hellbent), also in the field, as well as a much anticipated return from Fangirl (Sebring).

Tactical speed the key to Miss Chanel’s Champagne

Co-trainer Adrian Bott will be hoping for a toast after the G1 Champagne Stakes on Saturday in honour of the stable’s runner Miss Chanel (Tagaloa). The juvenile filly will be attempting to break her maiden at the sixth time of asking after five placings and a fourth, all at feature level.

On debut, she was third in the G3 Widden Stakes, before running fourth in the $160,000 Pierro Plate. Next, she was third in the G2 Reisling Stakes, and has been second in both of her most recent starts, first in the $1 million VOBIS Showdown before returning to Randwick for second in the G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes behind top-billed Campione D'Italia (Snitzel).

“I wouldn’t say necessarily we intended to have her here originally, that’s probably clear in the path she’s taken,’’ Bott told Racing NSW on Friday. “But she’s run well every time she’s stepped out, she’s shown no sign or indication we should be looking to pull up, she’s holding form.”

It’s been a long autumn for the filly, but she hasn’t yet given the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott team a reason to pull her up.

“I am mindful that at some point she’s going to reach the end of her preparation,” Bott said. “We’ve tried to find a few reasons to say ‘hey, is this the end of the road’. Who’s to deny her the opportunity to win a Group 1, to win a race.”

Particularly so when she ran the fastest last 600 metres and 200 metres of the Sires, only to find Campione D’Italia uncatchable by three quarters of a length.

“She is a filly that has tactical speed, she did get squeezed a bit out of the gate and it forced Regan (Bayliss)’s hand to be back much further than we wanted to be,’’ Bott said. “To an extent, it may have worked in her favour, because she got out to the part of the track you wanted to be on the day.

“It’s not easy spotting them a margin and covering the ground she did, but her effort was courageous. I’d like to think stepping up to a mile she can show a bit more tactical speed than what she’s done.”

Queen’s sons face off in Hall Mark

Confidential Queen (Shamardal {USA}) did not impress on the track during her short racing career, but she has more than made up for it in her second career, with her foals including two stakes winners and a total of 29 victories between them.

Those two stakes winners are Private Eye (Al Maher), the 11th highest earning horse in Australia, and his younger brother - and stablemate - King’s Secret (Shalaa {Ire}), who will try to beat his brother and score a second career victory when they meet in the G3 Hall Mark Stakes on Saturday.

Goodwood Farm’s Kerrie Tibbey bred the pair, and she shared with racenet.com.au this week how she paid just $13,000 for the Group 1 producer as a broodmare prospect at the Inglis Broodmare Sale in 2015.

"I loved the pedigree and I loved her,'' Tibbey said. "She's not a big mare, she's very strong but not very tall. In fact, I had mares selling there too and I sent my staff down to look at her after I bought her and they came back and said to me, ‘goodness me Kerrie, you can't even see her over the stable door!’

"But anyway, she's proved to be a nice buy at that money."

The mare’s short stature led to matings to Al Maher and Shalaa (Ire) in a bid to inject height into her offspring.

"What I was trying to do was get some height and it did,'' Tibbey says. "Private Eye was a decent sized yearling with the leg under him and presented as a really nice yearling."

It worked less well with King’s Secret, but Proven Thoroughbreds, who owned Private Eye, could see the potential and paid $100,000 for him. He has earned just shy of $600,000 to date - not yet quite on the same level as Private Eye, who has banked over $12.8 million.

"People came and looked at him but everyone thought he was too small, but (Proven Thoroughbreds’) Jamie Walter said, ‘nope, let's go with it’, and he bought him."

The results have started to show in the sales ring with the mare’s Anamoe filly selling for $650,000 at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale to Ciaron Maher Bloodstock and Eric Lucas. Her now 3-year-old Confidentiality (Shalaa {Ire}) passed in at the same venue two years ago, and has been a dual winner from three starts for Tibbey and trainer Joe Pride.

Private Eye arrives at Saturday’s 1200-metre contest first up and will jump from barrier nine, while King’s Secret, who has trialled since a midfield finish in the G3 Star Kingdom Stakes, jumps from barrier five.

Eastern raiders clash with West’s best in Quokka

Five eastern states’ raiders will bid for a share of the $5 million The Quokka riches on Saturday at Ascot, and while the Darby Racing colours will be among the cohort, they will be lifted by a different horse this year. Two-time Quokka winner Overpass (Vancouver) passes the torch to G1 Newmarket Handicap winner Caballus (I Am Invincible), who will race for the same slot holders, RAM Racing, as Overpass has in the past.

"He looks to have travelled well for a race I am very fond of," Baker said to racenet.com.au on Thursday. "I think he is bringing nice formlines."

The other four raiders are last start G1 William Reid Stakes winner Jigsaw (Manhattan Rain), who has been unbeaten in his last six starts and used to travel, regular Ascot visitor Rey Magnerio (Magnus), millionaire Spywire (Trapeze Artist), and Jedibeel (NZ) (Savabeel), who wove his way through the pack to run second by a head in the G1 Galaxy Handicap at his last start.

Tyler Schiller has given up a ride on Briasa (Shooting To Win) in favour of riding Brad Widdup’s gelding in the Quokka.

“He’s got a really sharp turn of foot, but he’s just got to use it at the right time,” he said of Jedibeel. “He definitely loves ducking and weaving, so I’ve just got to produce him at the right time, because if you give him too much air too soon, he doesn’t seem to finish off, which is funny.”

Local trainer Indianna Weinert is the rising start in the field, and she will send Smooth Chino (Maschino), who has only been beaten once in seven starts, to contest the Quokka in the hopes of keeping it local.

“It’s a big thing for me,” Weinert told The Verdict podcast on Thursday. “It has been a little bit overwhelming, but they (slot holders Unibet and Chief Racing) have been so good supporting me, the whole way.”

The 4-year-old was second in the G3 Roma Cup by a neck to fellow Quokka runner Rope Them In (Playing God).

“He (Smooth Chino) was fresh last time,” Weinert said. “Lucy (Fiore) dug him up out the gates and he sort of over-raced a bit… he needed that hard hit-out coming into a race like the Quokka, so it actually worked out okay.”

Stanley back on feet for Wolf's Mornington Cup tilt

Last month, Jett Stanley guided American Wolf (NZ) (Tivaci) to victory in the G2 Adelaide Cup, but his celebrations took a turn after the 4-year-old deposited him on the turf after the post. When he reunites with Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young’s stayer in the Listed Mornington Cup on Saturday, he hopes they can walk back into the mounting yard as winners together.

"It was a thrill… until I hit the ground," Stanley told racenet.com.au. He was uninjured and cleared to ride the rest of the card. "We were very fortunate in the Adelaide Cup the speed was on, all I had to do was sit there, relax with it and flow with it.

"The plan in the Adelaide Cup was to be midfield or a bit closer, not second or third last, but we were able to get in a beautiful rhythm. Once he's in that rhythm and happy, you just point and shoot with him, if you don't get him in the rhythm within the first 100 metres, he's going to be aggressive.”

The Mornington Cup will require the lightly raced stayer to drop back from 3200 metres to 2400 metres, and American Wolf has been freshened accordingly since March 9. He is aiming for his fourth win in 13 starts on Saturday, with his previous wins also including the Listed VRC St Leger over subsequent G3 South Australian Fillies Classic winner Litzdeel (Dundeel {NZ}).

"I'm really excited to get back on him and have him underneath me again, he's a dude of a horse and hopefully I can get another win on him,” Stanley said.

Meanwhile Rory Hunter hopes that Autumn Mystery (The Autumn Sun) can squeeze into the field, and says there is more merit in his recent runs than appears on paper.

“I think he’ll be really competitive if he gets a run,” he told racing.com. “To the viewers out there, his runs probably haven’t looked as good as they have been, but in the Easter Cup (when 10th), he still clocked the third fastest last 600 metres without a lot of galloping room.

“He looks to be crying out for 2400 metres plus now… I think he’s right on track for the South Australian Derby in a couple of weeks.”