Races are won and lost at the start. The Golden Slipper that runs today at Rosehill Gardens is a blur from barrier to finish. They tear around the 1200m course in less than 70 seconds. Miss the start and the dream is over for another year.

So what do you do when an experienced racehorse, one of the world’s very best, won’t jump when the barriers open? He just stands there, watching his rivals race away.

Champion Chautauqua has become the recalcitrant racehorse. Four times he has refused to jump away in barrier trials in recent weeks. It would be comical if it wasn’t so serious.

It is reminiscent of Ferdinand The Bull, the children’s story of the bull who would rather smell flowers than take part in bullfights.

But we are talking about Chautauqua. The “Grey Flash” is one of the sport’s most popular and exciting racehorses. He has won 13 races, six at Group 1 level, and earned $8.8 million — more prizemoney than Black Caviar.

Chautauqua’s appeal is that he is so different. He stands out because of his grey coat and his racing style. He is always out the back, last in his races, before unleashing thundering finishes that have carried him to famous victories.

But what isn’t as well known is the gelding’s quirky nature. Chautauqua is a stickler for routine. If he is not taken out of his stable box on time every morning, he gets cranky. He likes his own company and is not keen on other horses or humans. He’s also very intelligent.

If only he could talk so everyone could understand what bee is in his bonnet about barriers.

John Hawkes is Chautauqua’s trainer and the closest to a horse whisperer this writer has known in 25 years covering the sport. As a member of racing’s Hall of Fame, Hawkes is regarded as one of the greatest trainers of them all.

Hawkes has trained the winners of just about everything there is to win in Australian racing — including two Golden Slippers — and prepared some of the greatest champions of the modern era, such as Octagonal, Lonhro ... and Chautauqua.

For the last 10 years, Hawkes has trained in partnership with his sons, Wayne and Michael. The boys are wonderful horsemen and champion trainers. But it’s like Chautauqua is playing mind games. He is testing the skills of Team Hawkes. They are trying everything to curb the gelding’s barriers manners, to no avail.

They are getting plenty of advice, too. Most of it unwarranted and unfair. Social media has been in meltdown. Some are suggesting Chautauqua doesn’t want to be a racehorse any more and should be retired; others are saying he must be sore. One person even suggested the horse needs a change of diet and should be fed more apples.

None of this is true. Team Hawkes treat their horses like their own children. Chautauqua is as fast as ever in training and sound as a bell.

Wayne Hawkes says Chautauqua still wants to be a racehorse. “He’s not sore. He’s not hurting. We’ve had vets all over the horse. We’ve had legs scanned and X-rayed. There have been huge vet bills,’’ he reveals.

“Every physio and chiro has had a look at him. All the riders that ride him — everyone’s looked at him and ticked all the boxes. The most important thing is there’s nothing wrong with him.

“He was at the farm in Sydney and the farm down here at Melbourne and he’s jumped out (from the barriers) like a gazelle every single time we’ve put him through the gates. He’s a bugger.”

A rising eight-year-old, Chautauqua hasn’t been over-raced either. He’s only contested 32 races. Super mare Winx is a year younger but at Rosehill today she is lining up for her 34th start.

Chautauqua is a gelding so he has no future at stud. Calls to retire him are premature. More importantly, he still wants to be a racehorse.

“He’s called a racehorse and he’s out there to race. He’s not going to the breeding barn,’’ Hawkes says.

“We’ve never had this happen before but the end result is that he is not sore. We’ve taken him to the beach. He’s jumped, he’s schooled and he even went cutting some cows on the weekend.’’

Alan Bell is a veterinarian, Group 1-winning trainer, owner of outstanding racehorses, former Racing NSW chairman and a voice of reason. He describes some of the social media banter about Chautauqua as “ridiculous”.

“What people are forgetting about Chautauqua is he is trained by the best in John Hawkes and his boys, and they always do the right thing by the horse,’’ Bell says.

“They know their horses better than anyone and Chautauqua is telling them he still wants to be a racehorse but he has got it in his head not to jump away at the barriers.

“But you want to see Chautauqua given every possible chance to continue racing. He is enigmatic and exciting, and the type of horse that brings people to the races.’’

Perhaps the only solution is the one Team Hawkes has taken — sending Chautauqua to the spelling paddock so he can “get his head right”. He will be given another chance to race next spring. He deserves that opportunity.