Hugh Bowman has emerged as a potential rider for Chautauqua in three runs in Sydney this spring with a booking possibly hinging on which path Winx takes to the Cox Plate.
Chautauqua is just a month from returning to racing in Sydney and his part-owner Rupert Legh said on Wednesday a spring jockey had not been settled upon but that Bowman was being looked at along with regular Melbourne rider Dwayne Dunn and leading Sydney rider Brenton Avdulla.
Legh told RSN 927’s Racing Pulse on Wednesday that Bowman would only continue to be considered if there was confirmation soon as to where wonder mare Winx races this spring.
Presently, there is a struggle between NSW and Victoria for the mare’s services on October 14. She could run in the $1 million Caulfield Stakes over 2000 metres – as she did last year – or the newly rejuvenated Craven Plate, worth $500,000, over the same trip at Randwick.
If Winx stays in Sydney on that day, Bowman might be her rider. But Legh said connections needed to plan ahead with confidence, with the early plan revolving around Chautauqua having his two lead-up runs to The Everest in Sydney rather than Melbourne.
“We want a jockey to commit to ride him in all those three runs, particularly to the lead-up races so he has a better understanding of the horse,” Legh said. “So, at the moment, there is Dwayne (Dunn) and two Sydney jockeys in the mix.
“Obviously, John (Hawkes, trainer) will be looking at the Sydney jockeys because they understand the Sydney tracks better than the Melbourne jockeys,” Legh said.
“The ones which I put up were Hugh Bowman and (Brenton) Avdulla is another one you’d be talking to. Even Kerrin McEvoy.
“The hard part of having a Hughie Bowman is that he’s got a commitment to Winx and he’s obviously going to go wherever Winx goes so if Winx happens to come down for the Caulfield Stakes then that doesn’t work for Chautauqua because there’s a race in Sydney (The Everest) on the same weekend.”
Legh confirmed Chautauqua was set to do his pre-Everest racing in Sydney, which is a departure from the norm for the grey. In the past three springs he has begun his campaign in Melbourne.
Legh said the triple T.J. Smith Stakes winner was likely to resume in the Group 2 $200,000 The Shorts over 1100m at Randwick on September 16 before the G2 $500,000 Premiere Stakes over 1200m at the same track two weeks later.
After The Everest on October 14, he will come to Melbourne for another attempt at the Darley – the Flemington race where he has twice been runner-up.
As for the horse himself, Legh gave a glowing report on the eve of the Spring Carnival, where Chautauqua could score the biggest cheque by far of $5.8m.
“He couldn’t be in a happier place at the moment,” he said. “The horse spelled extremely well.
“Michael Hawkes is saying the horse has never looked better since they’ve had him as a baby and most importantly too, not only being physically mature now, I think mentally, he’s now arrived.
“So if that all goes hand-in-hand, we’ve got a horse that is physically and mentally at his top, then you’d like to think this preparation coming will probably be his best preparation if that’s at all possible.”
– racing.com
