The spring’s $15 million The Everest winner Giga Kick is back this weekend racing first-up in a small field at Royal Randwick in the 2023 Challenge Stakes.

The Everest champion Giga Kick kicks off his autumn campaign in Saturday’s 2023 Challenge Stakes in Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart.

The Group 2 $500,000 Challenge Stakes (1000m) serves as one of the key support acts on Saturday’s bumper 10-race Randwick Guineas Day card and features just nine sprinters.

Among the top chances in gate four with Craig Williams to ride is the Clayton Douglas-trained son of Scissor Kick Giga Kick getting his autumn underway.

A winner of five of his six starts to date the classy chestnut is best known for his narrow upset at 20/1 in The Everest at Randwick over the 1200m last October.

At his latest start he finished under a length third down the Flemington straight when fifth to Roch ‘N’ Horse in the Group 1 VRC Sprint Classic (1200m).

Giga Kicked looked good in a recent trial behind Coolangatta and now heads Challenge Stakes betting at $2.60 through Ladbrokes.com.au having been well supported early.

He is out to be the first three-year-old Challenge Stakes winner since the filly English (2016).

In a wide-open Challenge Stakes market, a further four runners are under double-figures for the win including the Hawkes Racing-trained Remarque ($4.20) in gate six with Brenton Avdulla riding.

The consistent Snitzel four-year-old has the fitness edge of his resuming rivals and has a strong record at the Randwick track (5:2-0-1).

He comes off a win at the track and distance carrying 62kg to victory on February 4 and will appreciate coming back to 58.5kg here at weight-for-age as he rises notably in grade.

Looking to become the third three-time Challenge Stakes winner in history is the dual defending champion Eduardo at $5.

Razor Sharp (1982-84) and At Sea (1985-87) both won three straight editions of the event and Joe Pride’s veteran nine-year-old Eduardo is looking to join them.

The old marvel boasts a 50% winning strike-rate from eight previous 1000m runs and is looking for his first success since carting 60.5kg to victory first-up in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) here in September last year.

He has work to do however if he is to turn the table on Giga Kick after running a disappointing second last (11^th of 12^th) in last year’s The Everest.

Eduardo finished sixth last time out behind Private Eye in the $3 million Winners Stakes (1300m) in late October and come into the Challenge Stakes off two good lead-up Randwick trials in February.

The James Cummings-trained Paulele is also first-up and being kept safe in betting at Challenge Stakes odds of $6.

James McDonald is in typically top form this season and partners the Godolphin-raced Dawn Approach four-year-old.

Paulele is a genuine Randwick specialist (7:5-0-2) and is back in Sydney having last been seen overcoming a wide alley in Perth’s Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) to win the spring last November.

The early Challenge Stakes market mover rounding out the hopes under $10 for the win is then the Grahame Begg-trained Passive Aggressive ($12 into $8.50).

The four-year-old Fastnet Rock mare is only lightly-raced having won four of her five career starts.

She rises in class and races for the first time since her close fourth to Chain Of Lightning in the Group 3 Cockram Stakes (1200m) in August last year.

The 2023 Challenge Stakes is set to run as Randwick Race 6 at 3:20pm (AEDT) with full markets thanks to Ladbrokes.com.au available by clicking here.

2023 Challenge Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw

Table Credit: Racing Australia.