Last season's G1 T J Smith S. winner Chautauqua (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) got his 5-year-old campaign off to a winning start Saturday at Moonee Valley with an eye-catching 1 1/2-length win in the G2 McEwen S. in his first try over 1000 meters. Taking his time to get his legs under him under jockey Dwayne Dunn, Chautauqua swooped past his rivals in the short straight to win with ease.
“He wasn't where you'd want to be, but Dwayne knew he was on the best horse and rode him accordingly,” said co-trainer Wayne Hawkes. “In the end it was a bit of barrier trial.”
In Sydney racing news, the Gai Waterhouse-trained 3-year-old filly Speak Fondly (Aus) (Northern Meteor {Aus}) dominated a quality field–including the highly regarded Perignon (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), Lake Geneva (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and 'TDN Rising Star' Ottoman (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus})–in Saturday's G2 Furious S. at Royal Randwick. The co-feature on that card was the G2 Chelmsford S. over a mile, which was won by Godolphin's longshot Complacent (Aus) (Authorized {Ire}) over Group 1 winners Kermadec (NZ) (Teofilo {Ire}), Royal Descent (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) and Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {Ire}). Chris Waller trained 11 of the 16 runners in the lineup, including the 2-3 finishers.
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