The world-famous horse whisperer who says he can save Chautauqua's career

World-famous horse whisperer Monty Roberts says he can reignite the career of cult hero Chautauqua in time for the $13 million race The Everest — but only if the Hawkes family listens to his advice and pays him accordingly.

“If they meet my demands, I will be there as soon as possible,” Roberts, 83, told Fairfax Media from his home in California. “This kind of thing that’s happened to Chautauqua is not uncommon at all. I know why, and I know how to fix it. I’ll do it in a week. I’ve done it with Pakistan Star in Hong Kong and I can do it with."

The brilliant seven-year-old's future is in the balance after he failed to leave the stalls in a barrier trial at Rosehill Gardens on Monday.

It was the fifth time in a barrier trial that the “Grey Flash” — who has collected almost $9 million in prizemoney and won three consecutive TJ Smith Stakes — has simply stood there in the stalls, refusing to budge.

Racing NSW stewards have told trainer John Hawkes and his sons, Michael and Wayne, that Chautauqua will need to complete a series of trials if he’s to take his place in The Everest (1200 metres) at Randwick on October 13.

At the very least, it would take a brave punter to put their money on Chautauqua, not knowing if their investment will stay in the gates with a deadpan expression that says, “Nope, not today”.

But Roberts is adamant he can resurrect Chautauqua’s career. Or, at the very least, get him out of the starting gates.

He's a legend of the equine industry, having worked with the Royal Family’s horses since 1989, once bringing the Queen Mother to tears when he tamed one of her favourite racehorses. He was parachuted into Sydney in 2013 to help trainer Gai Waterhouse with Queen Elizabeth’s horse Carlton House, who was having barrier problems.

He helped turn around the career of champion German stallion Lomitas, who was so troublesome at the gates he would throw himself on the ground “and start trying to kill people”.

And then, late last year, Hong Kong trainer Tony Cruz turned to Roberts when his champion gelding Pakistan Star — famous, like Chautauqua, for his breathtaking last-to-first victories — bizarrely stopped running mid-race.

“I know what’s wrong with this horse [Chautauqua] just by talking over the phone,” Roberts said. “It happens with a lot of horses late in their careers. Just before Christmas, I went to Hong Kong to work with Pakistan Star. I felt guilty going there for the fee I was being paid. I didn’t know what to do. I had never seen a horse do that before in my entire career.

“I’ve worked with a lot that won’t go in and a lot that won’t go out. This was different. But an hour there and I knew what was wrong with this horse. Ray Charles could see it. Then he won $4.5 million in the next three months.

“So I can fix these kinds of things. They all have slight differences and I would need a bit of time. It’s not something that is done overnight. It’s called ‘habituation’. You use a blanket. You have to use certain things on their head; a certain set of procedures so they respond without the pain they’ve had prior to this. I’m sure they’ve whipped him a lot trying to get him out. Pakistan Star was whipped half to death, it was unbelievable. The trainer was fined for excessive whipping. It takes hours and hours of habituation to move them out of that.”

Whether the Hawkes family is prepared to pick up the phone to Roberts is another matter. John is a Hall of Fame trainer who has prepared some of the all-time Australian greats like Octagonal and Lonhro.

“I can generally get this done in a week but I need assistance from the trainer and I need the trainer to tell me everything that’s been done and be as honest as he can so I know what has failed and where I have to go to succeed,” Roberts said. “The least they could do is to talk to me. I promise you: I have learnt more in the last three years of my life than ever before. Some of these people at the racetrack have no clue what they’re doing. I’m not putting them down, I know they're doing their level best.

“Gai and others have wanted me down there, but overall they try to make it as hard for me as they can. Just silly things. I was there for the Queen of England for her horse Carlton House. It was insanity. Gai put a set of starting stalls near her stables. I could put him on a 30-foot line and have him reverse himself back into the stalls on his own. Yet, when we got him to the stalls at the races, they [the barrier attendants] would grab an ear and put a blindfold on him and start a fight with him 50 metres from the stalls and he wouldn’t go in.”

Roberts also said he would want to be paid if he was called on to save Chautauqua's career.

“I’m not going to do it anymore without [a percentage],” he said. “Pakistan Star’s trainer, Tony Cruz, still hasn’t given me one sentence of support for what I did. But, in interviews with journalists, he repeats the sentences I gave him word for word. I don’t need the publicity. But I want to be paid reasonably. I can’t really tell someone how to fix their horse. But I hope these people make a deal with me to fix Chautauqua.”

Article courtesy of Fairfax Digital and The Brisbane Times