Chautauqua looks to continue his impressive 2014 when he lines up in the Group One Darley Classic on Saturday at Flemington where he is a warm favourite to make it four wins on the spin.

The four year deserves to top the betting for the 1200m contest at a track where he has already tasted success at this year.Trained by Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes, Chautauda has enjoyed the sprint trip in 2014 as he has landed a Group Three and Group Two contest over course and distance in his last two runs.

The one question mark any punters will have over Chautauqua going into the Darley Classic is that he is untested in a Group One contest. Whether that is enough to put people off the in-form sprinter, remains to be seen. His four lengths victory early in October in the Gilgai Stakes suggests he is more than good enough to make the step up in class with ease.

Despite everything he has done this year, he does need this Group One win to convince any of his doubters that he does deserve to be on the list along with some of Australia’s finest sprinters in recent years.

Opposition to Chautauqua in the Darley Classic appears to be very strong on paper so if he can overcome them, it may be the first step to becoming the best sprinter on the planet. If he is going to achieve that, he is going to need to win on Saturday and so impressively. Connections will then look at Dubai and Royal Ascot as potential targets in 2015.

Flemington and the Darley Classic have been fortunate this year to attract one of Europe’s finest sprinters in Slade Power, who has travelled across to Australia ahead of this valuable contest. He has three victories to his name this season, two of which being at Group One level so there is no question he is good enough to score in this contest. The one worry, as always with European horses which make to journey Down Under, is if they will acclimatise to the conditions. He has featured only once outside the UK and Ireland which was in Hong Kong at Shi Tin for the Longines Hong Kong Sprint where he ran a disappointing 10th place.

It would be wrong to write Slade Power off for that poor outing in December in Asia, as any horse who picks up the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Darley July Cup at Newmarket has to be seriously respected. Those two races are on the list of those most valuable sprint contests in the UK along with the King’s Stand Stakes (Royal Ascot), CoolmoreNunthorpe Stakes (York) and 32Red Cup at Glorious Goodwood.

Connections of Slade Power have taken the gamble of running their horse in the Darley Classic as they will pick up $600,000 bonus if successful as part of the Global Sprint Challenge so you can’t blame them for having a go. It will be his last run before retirement so they will be hoping the five-year old can finish off what has been a very successful career on the track before he goes to stud.

The highest rated sprinter on the southern hemisphere going into this year’s Darley Classic is not the hot favourite Chautauqua, but Lankan Rupee, so there will be plenty of punters arguing the value is against the market leader this year and instead with the horse with the highest mark.

Craig Newitt’s runner comes into this race on the back of a victory in the Group One Mankato Stakes at Moonee Valley where he beat Angelic Light by a short head in a close tussle at the end of the 1200m contest. The five-year has been one of the most consistent sprinters in Australia for the last couples of years with four Group One wins to his name. However, at the age of five, he could be past his very best which leaves the door open to Chautauqua to pick up that crown.

Lakan Rupee has only twice raced at Flemington but he did make his Group One debut there in November 2012 where he came home eighth of the 11 runners. In his second attempt at the track, he fared much better by justifying favouritism to score in the Darley T J Smith Stakes by two lengths.

It is set to be a fascinating renewal of the Darley Classic with Australia’s best colliding with Europe’s finest. There’s also the battle between Chautauqua and Lakan Rupee as to who is the best sprinter on the southern hemisphere. That should be settled fair and square this weekend. Whoever does win the $1 million sprint will need to be at their very best in one of the most anticipated sprint races Down Under for a long time.