Hong Kong plans for Chautauqua are still to be confirmed after the sprinter was beaten in the Darley Classic at Flemington.
Co-trainer Wayne Hawkes said Chautauqua had come through his short-head second to Delectation in good order but a final decision on his trip to contest the Hong Kong Sprint is still to be made.
The son of Encosta de Lago will have his final inoculations on Saturday with Hawkes saying he is a 70-30 chance to make the trip.
“We only want to go if we think we’re a deadset good thing,” Hawkes told Melbourne radio station RSN.
“At the moment we’re still going ahead, but we only need one small thing to pull the plug.
“There’s a stack of prize money here in Australia as well.”
Hawkes said a trip to Hong Kong would mean Chautauqua would miss races like the Lightning Stakes and Newmarket Handicap, events he contested at Flemington last autumn.
And it would make the timing tight for Chautauqua to defend his crown in the TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick in April.
He said Chautauqua had never travelled on a plane which he said was a different scenario from travelling to Moonee Valley or Flemington or even an extended float trip to Sydney.
While disappointed Chautauqua was beaten Hawkes said he would rather be training the gelding than not.
“We weren’t good enough on the day and that’s what mattered,” he said.
Should Chautauqua travel to Hong Kong he will depart on November 29.
