The thoroughbred breeding industry has never been short of an ‘opinion’, but if there is one thing that we can all agree upon with absolute certainty is that there are are no certainties.

Superstar sprinter Chautauqua (Encosta de Lago-Lovely Jubly, by Lion Hunter), whose half-brother Radradra finished runner-up on debut at Hawkesbury yesterday, will fly out for Hong Kong on Monday night ahead of his next assignment in the Gr1 Chairman's Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin on 1 May.

Uniquely, the Widden Stud in the Widden Valley, a spur off the south western end of the Hunter Valley, has two young sires in its historic stallion yards shaping up very good winner-getters who were not only brilliant Group 1 winning Australian racehorses, but also performers who turned in good efforts in one of England’s most prestigious sprints, the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot.

Some fantastic winners and races have occurred since the VRC swapped the Danehill Stks over and ran the Ascot Vale on Derby day.