After failing to jump yet again, Chautauquas racing days may be done
He's won over $8 million in prize money and is one of Australia's most successful sprinters, loved and known by punters for his thrilling, last-to-first wins.
But Chautauqua can no longer be coaxed to race.
For the sixth time in a row, the horse affectionately known as the "Grey Flash" stood alone in the stalls, as the field leapt from the barriers at a trial in Sydney yesterday.
The flat inflection of the race-caller said it all, as the field fled into the distance.
"He hasn't jumped Chautauqua, he stood there again. Wow."
Chautauqua's fail-rate is now unprecedented, and it's got everybody in the industry scratching their heads, while there are some calls for the popular gelding to be retired immediately.
Dr Andrew McLean has broken in over 1,500 racehorses, has done a PhD in equine training and regularly works with thoroughbreds at the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre in Victoria.
While he's had nothing to do with Chautauqua, he believes the problem is behavioural.
"It's a difficult thing to accurately say because we are all just looking from the outside. From my limited understanding, it looks as if he's having a freeze response.
"The freeze that animals have, is part of their natural wiring and it's part of the stress response which all horses are enduring when they are racing.
"It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just a highly adrenalized moment just before the barriers open."
Racing NSW's chief steward Marc van Gestel says his team must now consider banning the horse completely, given his poor track record.
"It is obviously becoming concerning to the stewards," said van Gestel.
"The stewards will make contact with connections and we will be requiring them to provide submissions to us as to why we should not take further action."
Currently there is no rule in place for horses that fail multiple barrier trials.
Horse unlikely to be suffering
Dr McLean has done extensive research on equine intelligence, and says it's unlikely the horse is suffering by being put through the trial process time and time again.
"All of the tests that have been done, there is no evidence that horses are capable of true observational learning," said Dr McLean.
"When an animal like a horse does something, he stores it and he doesn't think about it again until he sees the same stimulus.
"Horses don't reason. They don't extrapolate, they don't hope. They don't have those abilities to feel guilty or whatever like we do. They are very good at reacting to triggers in the environment.
"I would predict that the horse just has a pretty poor go-response."
Growing industry playing a part
Last month, Racing NSW announced a massive $260 million prize money boost to races all over the state, in a bid to create a more sustainable industry.
The state's flagship race, The Everest, went from $10 million in prize money to a whopping $16 million in 2018, in a bid to attract the best international racing talent and create a race to compete with the Melbourne Cup, run by the rival body Racing Victoria.
Chautauqua finished fourth in The Everest last year and connections have continued to test the grey's willingness to race, in the hope he'd win a slot this year.
"We haven't had a situation like it previously," van Gestel said.
Racing is an industry adjusting to changing public expectations. It has made two significant land purchases in the last two years which may become homes for retired racehorses, and it has set up an equine welfare fund.
What gets decided with the much-loved Chautauqua could be a telling test.
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