Bionic Chance for stud career

Press, 23 October 1989, Page 25

Bionic Chance for stud career

By

JEFF SCOTT

The brilliant race mare, Bionic Chance, has a date with top Canterbury stallion Smooth Fella after going amissing in one of her “good” legs at Lauriston on Saturday. The New Zealand Cup hoodoo of 12 months ago came back to haunt her. after working over 2400 m in 3:10 in her final fast work aimed at today’s Lion Red Hannon Memorial at Oamaru.

Last year on the eve of the New Zealand Cup, Bionic Chance cracked a pastern bone in her near-hind leg after her trainers, Alister and Lindsay Kerslake, had worked overtime keeping a suspensory ligament in a foreleg sound.

But on Saturday, her off-hind leg flared up with a strained ligament in a fetlock, effectively giving the Kerslakes no option but to bring down the curtain on her outstanding race career.

“It is a bit hard to accept after we have got this far again,” said Lindsay Kerslake yesterday. “Two months ago the veterinarian, Peter Scholes, didn’t think she’d race after she had a check ligament strain, which we treated for eight hours a day with a laser and magneto pulse and we thought we were just about there,” he said. While the Kerslakes are thankful Bionic Chance has not broken down completely, they are frustrated she will not be on hand for this season’s features. “There are some terrific races coming up,” said Lindsay. “I was hoping that she would be able to run in the Miracle Mile in Sydney more than the New Zealand Cup. The mile would have suited her brilliant speed.” Bionic Chance had been beset with problems since her record-breaking two-year-old days. “She was unbelievable at times. She always had had bad tie-up and half the time couldn’t even walk properly. She had throat infections, lots of things, and, all in all, had a lot of treatments,” said Kerslake. “When she ran second to Race Ruler in the New Zealand Derby, after, heading him in the run home, she hadn’t eaten all week. She was a writeoff really,” he added.

“Even when she ran fifth in the New Zealand Messenger, she was all to hell,” he said.

The daughter of Majestic Chance and Bionic Star was the first two-year-old pacer to top $lOO,OOO in earnings,

winning a record $133,185 in her juvenile season. She won seven races in 14 starts that season, including the N.Z. Golden Slipper Stakes, N.Z. Kindergarten Stakes, N.Z. Leonard Memorial Stakes and the CIGNA Sires’ Stakes Final in a record 1:58.7 for her age group.

She won a further seven races in 18 starts at three, finishing the runner-up in the N.Z. Derby and third in the Great Northern Derby, then raced only nine times at four for five wins, lowering her mile best to 1:58.3. The granddaughter of 1977-78 Broodmare of the Year Adio Star scored brilliant wins in the N.Z. Standardbred Breeders’ Stakes and N.Z. Premier Mares Championship at Addington and the Wellington Cup in record time, rating 2:1.9 for the mobile 2900 m. She numbered last year’s Hannon Memorial at Oamaru among her two wins in three starts at five and only raced once this season, finishing unplaced on a testing wet track at Motukarara two weeks ago. Lindsay Kerslake sorts out her brilliant finish to win the N.Z. Standardbred Breeders’ Mile at Addington as her most exciting run for sheer speed and also looks back fondly on her 1:58.7 two-year-old mile as career highlights. Bionic Chance, yet another outstanding performer from the Tondeleyo branch of the Estella Amos family, bows out with career earnings of $323,630, the result of 37 career starts for 18 wins, seven seconds and three thirds. The retirement is the second the Kerslakes have carried out in the last month with their open class performers.

Sir Alba, the 1985 Sires Stakes’ Final winner for three-year-olds in 1:57.4 for the mile, has been retired to stud after failing to flatter for the Templeton trainer, Peter Jones, in recent weeks. The Kerslakes, who raced Sir Alba in recent years on lease from Albury’s Jim Donaldson, sent the Alba Counsel entire to the Jones stable in the hope a change of environment might work the oracle.

“He was a bit of a heart-breaker, too. He never lost his speed and I didn’t doubt he was as good as any around, but he never recaptured his best after two wind operations,” said Lindsay Kerslake.

Sir Alba, which did his early racing from Ray Teahen’s Temuka stable, raced 64 times for 11 wins, 17 placings and $172,365 in stakes.