Giga Kick takes out The Everest 2022 at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney

There has been a boilover in $14million The Everest, with $23 outsider Giga Kick flying home down the outside to beat the heavily-backed Nature Strip at Royal Randwick on Saturday afternoon.  

Former jockey Clayton Douglas has only been in the training ranks for 18 months, but the 27-year-old has now won the richest race on turf in the world, with veteran hoop Craig Williams expertly guiding the three-year-old to victory ahead of Private Eye and Mazu. 

It was just the fifth start for the three-year-old gelding, who had never even raced at 1200m, but despite many being concerned he would still be outclassed despite a weaker Everest field, the connections were, rightly it turns out, not concerned in the slightest.

The well-backed Nature Strip loomed large at the top of the straight, but Williams stalked the leaders perfectly on the outside to just reel in Private Eye in the shadows of the post; leaving the favourite consigned to fourth.

Craig Williams lets a smile slip after being first passed the post on Giga Kick in the 2022 Everest on Saturday at Royal Randwick

An ecstatic Emma Freedman was clearly thrilled for Douglas, with the lightly-raced Giga Kick having won just $393,200 in prizemoney before scoring $6.2million for first in The Everest. 

I had a lot of confidence in this horse. He’s a really good horse. He’s a superstar. As a three-year-old, he probably wasn’t good enough, but I had a lot of faith in him. He’s just such a professional,’ Douglas told Freedman on Channel 7’s coverage after the race.

‘You can see today, 53kg, ridden like that, he’s electric … it (winning) is a bit of a whirlwind … he’s a star. Watch out, the new kid’s on the block.’ 

Prior to the race, many top form analysts were clearly taken with the potential of the gelding, but had concerns whether he would be ready for the jump in class. 

Clayton Douglas, who has been training for just 18 months, has won the world’s richest race on turf

He certainly put those to bed, and Williams could not have ridden him any better in such a hotly-run race.

The 64-time Group 1 winner was full of praise for how Douglas, at such a tender age for the training ranks, had prepared the young horse. 

‘We’re really lucky. I believe and trust this horse. Clayton Douglas, you talk about how young a trainer he is, but he’s well before his time. I’m just lucky I’ve been part of the ride,’ said a thrilled Williams on the broadcast after the race. 

The veteran hoop also gave a touching tribute to the war-torn country of Ukraine, where his wife Larysa is from. 

‘Thanks to the inspiration of the people in Yukon, together we will win!’ he said in Ukrainian, as he stared down the barrel of the camera shaking his fist.

Craig Williams salutes the crowd after winning the Everest on Giga Kick

There was a slightly awkward moment after the race when the broadcast cut to footage of star jockey Jamie Kah watching the race from Melbourne, just before she was set to ride in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup.

Kah was previously in a relationship with Douglas, and rode Giga Kick in her first start, before an AirBnb scandal derailed their relationship – and the look on her face said it all: ‘Have I missed the chance to win an Everest?’

For his part, Douglas, a renowned horseman who has won big races as a jockey on the flats or the jumps, thinks he has something special in Giga Kick.

Clayton Douglas (left) and Craig Williams embrace after the race

I’ve ridden a lot of good horses in my time. This horse just does things that people haven’t seen,’ said the thrilled Douglas on the broadcast.

‘I noted that on Tuesday and probably people thought I was being a bit cocky and all that, but Craig Williams had a lot of faith in this horse. He’s a star. 

‘I’m just so rapt for the owner … he put his neck on the line to take a three-year-old and do what he’s done … very happy,’ Douglas said.

They won’t be calling him cocky anymore!