Chautauqua, It's Somewhat Gain Breeders' Cup Berths

With top-level wins April 1 at Royal Randwick, R & C Legh Racing and GPI Racing's Chautauqua and Godolphin's It's Somewhat earned automatic berths into the respective Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) and the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. 

Chautauqua reasserted himself as one of the world's top turf sprinters with a dramatic last-to first victory over 14 rivals in the $2.5 million Darley TJ Smith Stakes (G1), his third consecutive TJ Smith Stakes. One race later on the Randwick program, It's Somewhat captured the $3 million Doncaster Mile (G1).

As the 9-2 second choice, Chautauqua, trained by Michael Hawkes and ridden by Tommy Berry, dropped back to last at the start of the six-furlong race, while pacesetters Fell Swoop and English led the field. As the leaders turned for home, English went to the front, but Chautauqua, still last, made a furious drive in the last 100 yards and hit the wire first, defeating English by a half-length, with Fell Swoop 1 1/2 lengths behind the winner. The gray son of Encosta De Lago, covered the six furlongs in 1:12.35 over a soft course.

The TJ Smith was Chautauqua's 12th win in 23 starts, but he was winless in his last five outings since capturing the Chairman's Sprint Prize (G1) at Sha Tin last May.

"There were a lot of knockers out there, (but) this horse is the king," Hawkes said to the Sydney Morning Herald. "He always has been and has never gone from us."

In the Doncaster Mile, It's Somewhat and jockey Zac Purton broke on top at 30-1 and never looked back, taking a course along the rail and holding off Happy Clapper by a half-length in a 20-horse field. It's Somewhat completed the one mile in 1:39.17 over a soft course.

"We were quietly confident that he'd run first four all week, but when the track played the way that it did, we knew he'd be tough and he was," O'Shea said to Horse Racing Australia. "It was a great ride from Zac Purton and I've owed him a good one for a while. We just rode the track and the way it's playing. We knew that he was a tough, fit horse and he'd done very well from his first-up run, and he just hoped."

The 6-year-old bay gelding by Dynaformer, trained by John O'Shea, won his second race this year in as many starts. He came into the Doncaster off a win in the Hyland Colours Ajax Stakes (G2) at Rosehill Gardens March 11.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will be held Nov. 3-4 at Del Mar.