End of the line as Chautauqua fails to jump again in Valley trial

Chautauqua raced into equine immortality when he won three consecutive group 1 TJ Smith Stakes in Sydney and proved himself the best sprinter in the world with that remarkable win in Hong Kong.

But now the horse once known as the ''Grey Flash" will probably be equally synonymous with equine immobility as he heads to the paddock for a well-earned retirement.

The eight-year-old was in the last chance saloon when he turned up at The Valley on Friday night for a barrier trial under lights, a jump-out designed to prove that he had mended his ways and could be trusted to jump out of the machines along with the field.

He had given every cause for optimism a week earlier when, on a grey morning at Flemington, he had left the barriers on terms with the field, giving rise to hopes that he could be prepared for one last hurrah in The Everest in Sydney in mid October and a final tour of Melbourne during the carnival.

But it was not to be. Chatauqua looked in a bright mood, perky enough in the paddock as he was readied for this trial. But the key question remained: would the experience under lights at The Valley a year ago, when he played up and showed his aversion to the barriers, still be in his mind.

Tommy Berry, who enjoyed so much success on him during his brilliant career pushed, shoved, cajoled, urged and did everything he could to get him to leave the gates but the great grey would not budge. As the field galloped away into the distance, Chautauqua stood like a statue.

Berry gave up the unequal struggle and the eight-year-old was led away. Wayne Hawkes, looking at himself on the big screen with a rueful expression, hands splayed out in that universal gesture of exasperation, incomprehension and inability to explain what has just taken place.

''You know what the bottom line is that he is what he is. What do you do. Everyone has done the right job, so what can you do.

''We have done everything we can, but if you don't want to do it, he don't want to do it, and guess what, he don't want to do it anymore.

''He seemed really on song and everything has been bright with him, but we have been down this road before. He is too smart, too good for us."

Article courtesy of Fairfax Digital and The Brisbane Times