THE two big prizes in Hong Kong at the weekend went to the short-priced favourites in Australian sprinter Chautauqua and the top Japanese miler Maurice. Chautauqua proved his ability as a world class international sprinter and passed with flying colours, again producing his phenomenal turn of foot to run down the leaders in the Chairmans Sprint having badly missed the break over the Sha Tin five furlongs.

Chautauqua, a son of Encosta De Lago, ridden by Tommy Berry, is known for his late finishes, and the grey didn’t disappoint as he came past his rivals having missed the break by three or four lengths and making his challenge five or six wide off the tight home bend. He was aided by a fierce battle for the lead with several horses, including Buffering and Peniaphobia doing themselves no favours as they went all out to try and get to the front. Both faded badly.

BLOWN AWAY

Tommy Berry was blown away by the performance. “I can’t believe he did what he did. I’ve never been in a sprint where they went that quick so I thought I’d pick them up. But to take so many lengths out of so many good sprinters...”

Trainer Michael Hawkes said: “There are no words to describe what this horse did. And the worst part is he is only five and is getting better with age.”

Chautauqua is the first Australian horse to win a Group 1 race in Hong Kong. Lucky Bubbles was a neck away in second with Strathmore third and Gold-Fun fourth. Fellow Australian and Dubai Sprint winner Buffering was the disappointment, having shared the lead to the 300m before fading to last. The eight-year-old was later found to be lame.

The win put Chautauqua in line for a $1 million bonus in the Global Sprint Challenge for winning events in three different countries but connections have decided not to travel to Ascot and he will be rested in Australia.

Japan’s Horse of the Year Maurice, ridden by Joao Moreira, stretched his winning sequence to seven with a victory in the Group 1 Champions Mile. Maurice never looked in danger as he powered to an emphatic victory.

Always in the clear, he travelled comfortably under Moreira before easing out and charging away down the straight. Moreira said: “He was in a good position in the race and I had plenty of options where to go so I just held on to him. When he saw daylight he got going by himself and won very impressively. He is one of the horses that has given me the best feeling in a race. He was brilliant.”

Charlie Appleby’s Safety Check, well-placed but unable to match the pace of the winner, ran well in fifth.