Sometimes, it really is over….

Has Chautauqua decided he doesn’t want to do it anymore?

Anyone who has worked with horses will tell you that they do have personalities, and they have personality quirks. How often have you heard a trainer in a post-race interview use the words “the horse will tell us what he wants ….”

Well, maybe Chautauqua is telling us what he wants.

Let’s look at the record. Chautauqua turns 8 years old in a week. He has had 32 starts, in a career producing 13 wins, 7 seconds and 4 thirds, for prize money of $8,821,935 and his wins have included three T J Smith Stakes, a Chairman’s Stakes, a Lightning Stakes and a Manikato Stakes, all at Group 1 level plus a couple of Group 2 wins and a Group 3. Really, does he have to do anymore?

It’s totally understandable that the owners of any racehorse want to see their horse run – and win. Even when that horse has been an out and out champion, and made millions, it’s hard to make the call that turns off the glory tap, let alone the money tap. And it has to be remembered that Chautauqua is a gelding. There’s no breeding barn filled with broodmares waiting over the next hill. So, if The Grey Flash has really gotten it into his head that this racing caper has knobs on it, then his future will be in a retirement paddock unless there is an alternative plan in place. Trouble is, an alternative plan for a champion needs to be a special plan. I don’t think anybody wants to see Chautauqua as a police horse! He’s a grey, so maybe he could follow Subzero’s pathway as a Clerk of the Course pony, but I really hope not. “Subby” was a Melbourne Cup winner, and is a sweetheart of a horse, but a champion? I don’t think so.

The thing is that Chautauqua is in the very capable hands of the Hawkes clan, and there is no argument that can be put against the statement that John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes are right up there in the training pantheon. They are real horsemen. If they can’t unscramble Chautauqua’s thinking about the barriers, then perhaps nobody can. Horses, especially thoroughbred racehorses, can be tricky. Like all animals, and that includes the bloke next to you, they get ideas and fixations. One horse I worked with hated hats. Wear an Akubra, and she would try to double-barrel you – you see, she was broken in badly, and quite cruelly, by an Akubra-wearing idiot. Wear a cap, you were fine. Simple really, she remembered the whole thing, and associated hats with being hurt. Horses just aren’t dumb animals. They love patterns, predictability and order, and they do make associations between experiences and the behaviours expected of them.

And that is the problem here. Chautauqua has had a barrier issue that he didn’t enjoy, and maybe he is remembering that. The frustrating thing for his connections is that the horse is sound, and after all, he is a racehorse. If the problem is between his ears, and if it can be fixed, then there is no reason he couldn’t continue to be The Grey Flash.

But if it can’t, then maybe it’s time to decide that perseverance might not be the answer, as tough as that call may be. Problem is, it’s a bit strange to say that you will let the horse tell you when his next start should be, and then not listen when he tells you that enough is enough!

By Rob Young

 

 

 

 

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