By John Berry
The G1 Lightning S. at Flemington, Australia's principal 1000m weight-for-age race, has been won by some great horses since its inauguration in 1955. As its current title the Black Caviar Lightning S. suggests, arguably the greatest (and definitely the most celebrated) of its winners has been Black Caviar (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus}), the mighty mare who went undefeated in a 25-race career between April 2009 and April 2013. For much of its existence, the Lightning S. attracted minimal attention outside Australia, even though some its winners rank as all-time greats. Sky High (Aus) (Star Kingdom {Ire}), who took it in 1961 and '62, remains the only horse to have won both the Golden Slipper and the VRC Derby. He is also the permanent record-holder for 10 furlongs at Flemington, having won the 1961 Mackinnon Stakes in 2:00.7, a record which was still standing 11 years later when Australia replaced the imperial system with metric measurements.
Subsequent champion sire Century (Aus) (Better Boy {Ire}) was superb in 1974 when winning for Bart Cummings; while the Colin Hayes-trained Desirable (Aus) (Without Fear {Fr}) became a rare 2-year-old filly to score at weight-for-age when 20-year-old New South Welsh apprentice Malcolm Johnston rode her at a nowadays-unimaginable 43 kilos in 1976.
In 1987 Placid Ark (Aus) (Arkenstone {Aus}) became the first horse to complete the Lightning/Oakleigh Plate/Newmarket Handicap treble, thus earning Horse of the Year honors. Special (Aus) (Habituate {Ire}) chased him home in that Lightning S. before winning the race the following year in the record time of 55.5. Shaftesbury Avenue (Aus) (Salieri) took the race in the same year (1991) in which he won the G1 Caulfield S. over 2000m and finished third in the G1 Japan Cup over 2400m.
Schillaci (Aus) (Salieri), winner of the Lightning in 1992 and '93, was a superstar; while Mahogany (Aus) (Last Tycoon {Ire}), who won it in 1994 and '96 (aged four and six respectively), was a champion in the Sky High mould, having won both the VRC Derby over 2500m and the AJC Derby over 2400m as a 3-year-old.
These champions, though, received minimal international recognition. The situation changed utterly, however, when Choisir (Aus) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) won the then G2 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot in June 2003 at 25/1. Who was this massive chestnut upstart, English race-goers asked, and what had he won? Well, he appeared to have won a race called the Lightning S. at Flemington four months previously.
Subsequently, the Lightning S. continued to loom ever larger on the international radar. Its 2005 winner Fastnet Rock (Aus) (Danehill) came to England later in the year, but travel sickness prevented him from lining up at Royal Ascot. Next came Takeover Target (Aus) (Celtic Swing {GB}), Miss Andretti (Aus) (Ihtiram {Ire}) and Scenic Blast (Scenic {Ire}) who all completed the Lightning/King's Stand double (in 2006, '07 and '09 respectively).
Black Caviar has subsequently become the only horse to win three Lightning S. (2011, '12 and '13). The extent to which the international sprinting landscape had changed in merely a decade is shown by the fact that when Choisir had scored at Royal Ascot as the reigning Lightning S. winner, he had done so at 25/1 – but when Black Caviar followed up her 2012 Lightning victory with triumph at Royal Ascot, she did so as the 1/6 favourite.
Connections of this year's Lightning S. hero Chautauqua (Aus) (Encosta De Lago {Aus}) are currently being courted by Ascot's representative Nick Smith, who was at Flemington to see the grey 5-year-old gelding win a thrilling race by a centimetre or two. Even though putting a Royal Ascot victory on the CV holds most appeal financially for prospective stallions, there is still plenty of incentive to travel a gelding (as Takeover Target and Scenic Blast reminded us) particularly as the Lightning S. is the first leg of the Global Sprint Challenge, a series that makes a $1M bonus available for international high achievement.
The irony is that, while the record books show that Chautauqua is the winner of Australia's premier 1000m weight-for-age race, he is far from an undisputed champion. Would runner-up Terravista (Aus) (Captain Rio {GB}) have beaten him if ridden more vigorously over the last 150m? Probably. Would fourth-placed Exosphere (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}) have beaten them both but for the bizarre decision to race him down the far side of the track (bearing in mind that a 2-year-olds' Listed race earlier in the afternoon had been dominated by two of the only three horses to come to the stands' side)? Very possibly.
Chautauqua, though, has his name in the record books and this, his third Group 1 victory, ranks as his best to date. He is now clearly the most distinguished member of his family, having surpassed the achievements of his dam Lovely Jubly (Aus) (Lion Hunter {Aus}). Her biggest payday came when she landed the Magic Millions Two-Year-Olds Classic at the Gold Coast in 2002, although her most prestigious victories came later that season when she completed Brisbane's G1 juvenile double of T. J. Smith Classic and QTC Sires' Produce S.
Overall, this is a decent family of good, professional racehorses who have compiled solid racing records on either side of the Tasman Sea. Lovely Jubly was one of two group winners produced by her dam Jaboulet (NZ) (Vice Regal {NZ}), along with Sir Howard (Aus) (Alannon {Aus}) who scored at Group 2 level in New Zealand. The multiple winners just a bit farther back in the pedigree include Real Vision (NZ) (Vision Quest {NZ}) who won 11 races including the Winter Cup at Riccarton, and Royal Dell (NZ) (Royal Ridge {Fr}) who scored 10 times and was placed in both a Wellington Cup and a New Zealand Cup. That Chautauaqua and Lovely Jubly both became specialist sprinters speaks volumes for the influence of their sires, the excellent Encosta De Lago (Aus) (Fairy King) and the ill-fated Lion Hunter (Aus), a very fast horse whose sire Danehill and dam Pure Of Heart (Ire) (Godswalk) were both top-class sprinters.
The thoroughly admirable Chautauqua, who was passed in at A$300,000 at Inglis' 2012 Easter Yearling Sale when he was offered with a A$400,000 reserve, should certainly be tough enough to cope with the challenge of a trip to Royal Ascot – and he might also be good enough to complete this mighty double.
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