‘Clash of champions’ justifies charter cost

Press, 9 March 1988, Page 49

‘Clash of champions’ justifies charter cost

PA Auckland The $60,000 pledged by the Victoria Racing Club to charter a Boeing 727 cargo aircraft especially for Bonecrusher will be money well spent, according to the champion’s owner, Peter Mitchell.

VRC officials spent a hectic five hours on Monday evening arranging the Ansett flight after hearing Bonecrusher’s plane had been grounded in' Auckland and would return to the United States. Mr Mitchell told the club he was not prepared to risk flying the "Crusher” via Sydney, the only other way to get him to Australia in time for Monday's clash with Vo Rogue in the sAustsoo,ooo Australian Cup. “I told them if they didn’t come up with a direct flight to Melbourne by Wednesday, we were out of business,” he said. “But I didn’t think they

could pull it off. It’s a wonderful gesture to hire a plane. I’m over the moon.

“It’s never been done before, but I’m sure they’ll get a good run for their money.” The V.R.C. marketing manager, Sue LloydWilliams, said the charter was a costly exercise — estimated at between $56,000 and $60,000 — but the club had an obligation to the racing public to get Bonecrusher to Melbourne;

"We’ve been promoting this race for a month. It’s the clash of the champions, the race of two centuries. Every man in the street is talking about it.

“When it came down to the crunch, we weren’t thinking about how many would come through the turnstiles to make up the deficit.

“Money's not the important factor, all eyes in

New Zealand and Australia will be on this race.”

Today’s charter will fly virtually empty to Auckland, pick up Bonecrusher, and paying passengers, Arctic Wolf and Onawa, and return immediately to Melbourne. Mr Mitchell said yesterday that he would have called off the campaign, including the Tancred Stakes, without the charter. He would not have risked Bonecrusher on an indirect flight. "It’s not the only race in the world, but there’s only one “Crusher.” "People will say what’s the difference, but I know all too well what can happen at airports. Even without a hiccup he wouldn’t have got bedded down in Ballarat until two or three in the morning,” Mr Mitchell said. “I’m not going to put him under that sort of stress. It’s imperative he’s

settled in before his final gallop on Friday morning or we could undo all the work we’ve put into him.”

Mr Mitchell said Bonecrusher appeared to have come out of Monday's ordeal at Auckland airport unscathed. High cross-winds and a drenched tarmac forced the freight plane pilot to abort take-off halfway down the runway, I Strapper Shaune Ritchie, standing with Bonecrusher, said even the horse knew something was wrong when, after what seemed an eternity, the brakes went on and the plane started skidding.

“I never feared for our lives but it was no joke I can tell you. I thought we were going to end up in the Manukau Harbour,” Ritchie said.

“The horses were rolling around a bit but never looked like coming down.”