3 minute read

The 2023 Sydney Autumn Carnival came to a close on Saturday at Royal Randwick and trainer Clayton Douglas stole the show with his first Group 1 victory in the All Aged Stakes (1400m).

His star gelding and well-fancied favourite, Giga Kick, stormed down the middle of the track to score dominantly.

Punter's Intelligence recorded that the race's tempo was very fast, with leader Lost And Running clocking 46.79 for the first 800m.

To put that into perspective, that section was approximately 11.5 lengths faster than the Midway Handicap (1400m), 7.5 lengths quicker than the Group 3 James H B Carr Stakes (1400m) and 9.5 lengths faster than the Benchmark 88 Handicap (1400m).

Although Giga Kick was run to suit, he proved he could run a strong 1400m and excelled in the high-pressure event.

The three-year-old sizzled home, running the race's fastest final 600m/400m/200m splits in 36.11/24.35/12.70.

Zaaki resumed after a 161-day break and was brave in defeat.

The eight-year-old had to absorb the brutal tempo, then was exposed early but tried hard to the line.

He clocked 11.94 between the 400m-200m and maintained a solid finishing speed to the line.

Cascadian was sharply back in distance and had too much to do.

He was outpaced early, checked at a critical stage and lost momentum, but to his credit, he closed off hard.

His final 600m in 36.26 was only one length inferior to Giga Kick.

Bandersnatch was honest in defeat and Jacquinot is more suited to dry ground.

Militarize was impressive, winning the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) after having multiple factors against him.

The colt travelled wide without cover throughout and covered an extra 6.2m relative to the runner-up Bases Loaded.

He had to make a long wide, sustained run with nothing to bring him into the race off a slow tempo, but he asserted his authority over the final furlong.

His final 200m split in 12.36 was two lengths superior to the race's following best, which was Tom Kitten in 12.71.

The Chris Waller trained galloper will only come back improved next campaign as a three-year and be a force to be reckoned with in the Spring.

As referenced, Tom Kitten ran on well after being unsuited by the pace of the race.

The consistent Don Corleone ran the race's quickest 800m-200m split in 36.07; after using all that energy, he could only battle away over the final 200m.

Vilana returned a decisive winner in the Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes (1200m), and he did it in style.

The four-year-old raced wide but accelerated hard between the 400m-200m and ran 11.29 for that split.

He maintained a solid closing speed to the line, and his sectional profile suggests he'll only improve from the run.

Waihaha Falls appreciated being back on rain-affected going, and he flew home, running the fastest final 400m sectional of the meeting in 23.43.

Watch for him over the coming weeks, especially if he can strike a wet track.

Key Largo continues to fly under the radar and raced well again on Saturday. His final 600m was in 35.14.

Some other key sectional performers of the day included Osipenko, who showed late strength to clock the day's fastest final 200m in 11.82.

Democracy Manifest lived up to his outstanding trials and sprinted one of the fastest 400m-200m splits of the meeting in 11.43.

It's worth noting the TAB Highway (1200m) rated well relative to the day after adjusting for age, class and additional factors.

Victor Preemptory clocked an overall time of 1:12.37 and follow that race with confidence moving forward.

Fastest last 600m: Waihaha Falls 34.99

Watch Punter's Intelligence with Ben Way and Brad Gray at 7pm on Tuesdays on Sky Thoroughbred Central.