Australia: Giga Kick notches upset in Everest Stakes

The 3-year-old Giga Kick rallied from 10th in a field of 12 to record an upset win in Saturday’s $9.3 million Everest Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, overtaking 3-5 favorite Nature Strip in deep stretch.

Ridden by Craig Williams, Giga Kick ($38.20) appeared beaten when Nature Strip took a lead of about a length with a furlong remaining. But Nature Strip could not sustain the effort and faded to finish fourth, beaten slightly less than a length in the world’s richest sprint.

Giga Kick finished about a half-length in front 13-1 Private Eye, who was a half-length in front of 17-1 Mazu. Nature Strip finished a nose behind Mazu.

The loss ended a three-race winning streak for Nature Strip, the Australian Horse of the Year in 2019-2020. Jockey James McDonald told track publicity that a wide trip did not help Nature Strip, who started from the outside post.

Earlier this year, Nature Strip won the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at five furlongs at Royal Ascot in England.

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Giga Kick, trained by Clayton Douglas, is by Redoute’s Choice stallion Scissor Kick and is unbeaten in five starts.

Douglas, 27, is a former jump jockey with a stable based at Mornington, not far from Melbourne. Giga Kick was his 27th winner in a career that began in the 2020-2021 season.

Owned by Pinecliff Racing, Giga Kick won the Group 3 Vain Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne on Aug. 13 in his stakes debut, and followed with a win as the odds-on favorite in the Group 2 Danehill Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on Oct. 1.

The Everest Stakes program was attended by 46,221, which racing officials said was the highest at Randwick in 50 years.

Durston wins Caulfield Cup

Durston drew into Saturday’s Group 1 Caulfield Cup on race morning, and rallied wide through the stretch to record an upset win in the $3.1 million race that is a key prep for the Group 1 Melbourne Cup at nearby Flemington Racecourse on Nov. 1.

Ridden by Michael Dee, Durston ($48.80) raced on the rail for the first mile in the middle of a field of 18. Dee eased his mount off the rail on the turn and farther wide into the stretch, always finding the needed racing room.

Durston quickened through the final sixteenth to edge 9-1 Gold Trip by about a head. Knights Order (13-1) finished third, with 9-5 favorite Smokin’ Romans finishing seventh by about 2 1/4 lengths.

Durston earned a berth for the Melbourne Cup at two miles with the win in the Caulfield Cup. Prior to the race, Durston ranked 27th on the list of candidates, with only 24 allowed to start in the Melbourne Cup.

The win in the Caulfield Cup was not without a penalty for Dee, who was suspended 12 days by track stewards for causing interference to Tralee Rose, who finished 13th.

Durston, trained by Chris Waller, is a 7-year-old British-bred gelding by Sea the Moon, who has won three of his last four starts. Durston has won three stakes, although the Caulfield Cup was his debut in a Group 1.

Waller also trains Nature Strip.

Durston raced in England earlier in his career, winning two lucrative handicaps in 2019 before being transferred to Australia in the winter of 2020-2021.

Monday preview

The 4-year-old Tidal Rush and Hard to Dismiss, winners of their last starts, are two of the leading runners in a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Muswellbrook Racecourse on Sunday evening across American time zones.

Muswellbrook has an eight-race program beginning at 10:15 p.m. Eastern or 7:15 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Tidal Rush was a slight 3-1 favorite over 5-1 Hard to Dismiss in early betting on Saturday. Tidal Rush won for the third time in his 10th start in a seven-furlong handicap at Scone Racecourse on Sept. 23, leading throughout to win by slightly less than a half-length over Shen Gui, who is part of the Muswellbrook field.

Hard to Dismiss won a seven-furlong handicap at Tamworth on Sept. 23 to end an eight-race losing streak since a maiden race win at 6 1/4 furlongs at Taree in January. A filly, Hard to Dismiss races from off the pace and will start at 7 1/2 furlongs for the first time.

This will be the longest start for Tidal Rush, who was second in a handicap at 7 1/4 furlongs at Muswellbrook in July, closing from sixth to be nearest the front at the wire.

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