Giga Kick gears up for his initial Sydney outing in almost 18 months by tackling the Challenge Stakes at Randwick, paving the way to The Championships.

Since placing second to Bella Nipotina in the 2024 The Everest (1200m), the premier sprinter hasn’t raced in Sydney, with the 1000m Saturday sprint at Randwick serving as his first benchmark if conditions permit.

The trainer Douglas arrived with Giga Kick in Sydney on Saturday, intending to gauge the gelding’s readiness during Tuesday morning’s exercise before deciding on entry.

Attentive to weather patterns, Douglas is enthusiastic about entering the gelding to sharpen up for the Group 1 T J Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 4.

“Nash Rawiller will ride him. He will probably have a sit on him on Tuesday morning,” Douglas said.

“Everything seems to be on target.

“Hopefully we will get a bit of give in the ground. That’s going to be the main thing for him.

“It will be another run towards the T J and then hopefully we’re ready to go.”

Douglas mirrors the 2023 blueprint that saw Giga Kick third to Passive Aggressive in the Challenge Stakes (1000m), then second to I Wish I Win in the T J Smith Stakes.

Top Reward from the same barn has qualified for Sydney travel after a strong fifth behind Australian Guineas champion Observer in the Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on resumption.

The three-year-old holds entries in the Rosehill Guineas (2000m) and ATC Australian Derby (2400m), starting with the Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes (1500m) on March 14 at Rosehill.

“He will trial on Thursday at Randwick and then it’s nine days to the race,” Douglas said.

“It will be a month between runs, but the trial in between will do him good.

“(Stepping up from) 1400 to 1500 will suit him. I might even put a set of blinkers on him in the trial.”

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