The Feb. 20 G1 Black Caviar Lightning S. run over the course, albeit over 200 metres shorter, is likely to have a significant bearing on the result of the G1 Lexus Newmarket H. at Flemington Saturday. Chautauqua (Aus) (Encosta De Lago {Aus}) was the narrow victor on that occasion, coming from an unlikely winning position 200 metres from home to snatch the verdict on the wire by a neck from Japonisme (Aus) (Choisir). The 5-year-old is seeking his fourth top-level success following the Lightning, but has a tough road to hoe, with a welter burden of 128lbs. Reflecting on his last victory co-trainer Michael Hawkes said, “We always thought it would be a touch short for him at that level of competition, but with 200 metres to go, you started to think, is this really happening? At the end of the day, good horses just defy the odds and no one expected at the 200-meter mark for him to do what he has done. He has done great recently and all going well, this will be his day.” Chautauqua will jump from stall 11 and jockey Dwayne Dunn feels he can work this to his advantage. “It gives me an opportunity now to just put him into open air again and hopefully we see that awesome sprint we saw the other day,” said Dunn. “It was sensational to watch and even better to be on him.”
Chris Waller re-opposes with Japonisme (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}), and does so with a five-pound pull in the weights. The trainer was successful in the race last year with Brazen Beau (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) with hoop Craig Williams aboard, and, Williams feels everything is pointing towards a serious challenge from the 3-year-old. “I was able to ride Japonisme on Tuesday morning down the straight in a piece of work and I felt that he had very similar mentality to Brazen Beau, so I'm really looking forward to the ride,” said Williams. He is weighted half a kilo more than Brazen Beau when successful last year, so obviously the handicapper thinks a lot of him because we know how good Brazen Beau was.”
As is the norm, Chris Waller has a few more darts to throw besides Japonisme, and, among his other two runners he also fields another 3-year-old in Counterattack (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}). The colt finished third in the G3 Eskimo Prince S. at Randwick Feb. 6. On that occasion, he finished a place behind Le Romain (Aus) (Hard Spun), who subsequently followed up with a surprise win in the G1 Randwick Guineas last week.
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