Transport Chip to stand at Rangiora

Press, 22 June 1984, Page 20

Transport Chip to stand at Rangiora

Special correspondent Invercargill

The Most Happy Fella horse, Transport Chip, which has been one of the most sought after sires in New Zealand in the last two seasons, will transfer from Southland to Canterbury this coming stud season. He will stand at the Kancho Lodge Stud of Mr Kelvin Stevens, at Rangiora.

Transport Chip, which is owned by a syndicate, stood at the Cedar Lodge Stud at Invercargill where he served 150 odd mares two seasons back and 130 last season. Many top-bred Canterbury mares were sent south to be mated with Transport Chip, which has proved a most fertile young horse. Last season 112 mares returned positive tests to him. “There has been an increasing Canterbury inquiry for bookings to Transport Chip in the last two seasons, and it was felt a two-year stint in Canterbury would be worth while,” Bryce Buchanan, of the Cedar Lodge Stud, said yesterday.

Transport Chip, which has only been lightly represented from his small initial crops to this stage, has a percentage of 39.4 of winners to live foals from his first two crops to race as three and four year olds last season. This was quite a remarkable score and placed him in the top bracket.

Among his first runners were one of New Zealand’s finest race mares in recent seasons in Steady Lady, which has since proved herself a fine winner in North America, where she has taken a record of imin 55.85; Gliding Princess, one of the few fillies to win both

the New South Wales Oaks-, and Derby; Otatara, which;” has run up a string of -i successes in Australia this <' season; Most Happy Star (winner of the West Austra- - lian Triple Crown as a two-year-old); a fine staying -■ mare in Ansett (Imin 595)/ which has won eight; Cheap •> Transport, Toris and an out- ' standing trotting mare in < Kawarau Chip to mention a 1‘ few.

Well-known Canterbury t breeders in Messrs Grice Brothers, of Ashburton, and ■ the former Southlander, ,* Robert Cameron, liberally - patronised Transport Chip in recent seasons. Actually,» Cameron had 12 mares: mated with the Most Happy - Fella horse last season and r 11 returned positive tests. Transport Chip will stand alongside the Meadow Skipper importation, Brave Rebel, and the established former cup class New Zea- < land pacer, Bolton Byrd, at Kancho Lodge this season. Brave Rebel, a seven- / year-old entire which was lightly raced after breaking a coffin bone in a training accident as a juvenile ar-; rived in New Zealand in April. By Meadow Skipper from the Gamecock mare, Barbella Hanover, Brave Rebel is bred on the same cross as Alba Counsel, the sire of this season’s top pacers in King Alba, Lady Alba and Blue Water. Brave Rebel is a threequarter brother in blood to the outstanding mare, Bardot Lobell (p2, Imin 54.85), the United States Two-Year-Old Pacer of the Year, while he is a half-brother to other good winners in Barbie Lobell (Imin 56.45) and Barbarina Lobell (2min . 0.8 s).