Bionic Chance dashes away with Challenge Stakes

Press, 10 January 1987, Page 31

Bionic Chance dashes away with Challenge Stakes

From

JEFF SCOTT

in Washdyke

Bionic Chance, which scampered away at the top of the straight to win the $lO,OOO Timaru Challenge Stakes by seven lengths at the Timaru Harness Racing Club’s meeting at Washdyke yesterday, is giving Alastair Kerslake a few headaches as to her racing programme over the next few months. Kerslake, who partowns and trains the freak daughter of Majestic Chance and Bionic Star at Lauriston, is delighted with her form but is faced with delicately placing the filly when the big money comes on offer. Bionic Chance looks to have a stranglehold on the rich D.B. Fillies series, of which the first South Island heat will be run at Waterlea on February 8, followed by a heat at Addington four nights later. The final of the series will be run at Alexandra Park in May. Kerslake also has the

Great Northern-New Zealand Oaks double on her programme, and. because of the way she is racing, he now has to give consideration to taking on the colts and geldings in the Great Northern and New Zealand Derbys. Kerslake, who races Bionic Chance in partnership with his wife, Betty, and brother-in-law, Francis Woolley, has already won four Derbys with the close relatives of his current star — Bachelor Star, Main Adios, Game Adios (New Zealand) and Main Star (Great Northern) — and rates Bionic Chance .the equal if not better than all of them. Yesterday, Bionic Chance settled perfectly, handy on the outer for Michael de Filippi, who sent her forward with 450 m to run when the second favourite, Rostriever Hanover, “flushed” her out. She simply went into over-

drive turning for home and won easing down in a smart 2:31.7 for the mobile 2000 m, the leaders running their last 800 m in 58s and the closing 400 m in 28.55.

De Filippi has now driven Bionic Chance four times for two wins and two seconds.

“He felt sluggish and needed a good blowout,” said Pat O’Reilly of the runner-up, Rostriever Hanover, which had beaten the filly in the Champion Stakes at Ashburton last month. But O’Reilly offered no excuses.

Rostriever Hanover’s prospects were not helped when he galloped soon after the start, losing 20m. O’Rdilly attributed this to the mobile arm travelling too slowly in the runup.

Speedy Cheval, handy in the open, battled on for third, a length and a half away.