Giga Kick is back — and back in style.

The former Everest hero reminded everyone of his class with a stirring victory in Saturday’s $300,000 Group 2 Schillaci Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield, breaking a two-and-a-half-year drought and reigniting his reputation as one of Australia’s best sprinters.

Nearly three years on from his famous Everest triumph, the Clayton Douglas-trained gelding stormed home from last to first under a perfectly timed ride to notch his eighth career win — and his first since the Doomben 10,000 in May 2023.

“It’s a relief, to be honest…I’m going to get emotional,” Douglas said. “It’s good to have him back. He’s been a lot of hard work. We’ve copped a lot of flack for this horse — people said he was fat, not ready — but good horses do good things.”

Starting at $7, the son of Scissor Kick unleashed a dazzling finish to overhaul the heavily backed favourite Tropicus ($2.80) by three-quarters of a length, with Niance ($4.40) third. The win took his career earnings beyond $13 million.

With one slot still open for next Saturday’s $20 million The Everest, Douglas hinted he’s open to talks with slot-holders Yulong. “We’ll have a chat anyway,” he said. “He’s just a good horse. He’s earned $4 million more than that whole field combined, so to see him win like that — it was special. Give me a call; surely they know my number.”

Giga Kick, who ran second to Bella Nipotina in last year’s Everest, is now a $26 chance for this year’s renewal, headed by Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising ($1.60).

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