Hint impressive in debut

Press, 11 December 1982, Page 23

Hint impressive in debut

J. J. BOYLE

"A ready-made little racehorse.” That was the comment of the Riccarton trainer. Jim Tomkinson, after his stable runner, Hint, outclassed the others in the Middlepark Plate, for two-year-olds, at the Canterbury Jockey Club's Christmas meeting yesterday. Hint won running away by four lengths in this, her race debut for the estate of Mr T. C. Lowry. Rattle the Sabre looked as if he might make it a contest

about 200 m out, but Hint showed formidable powers of acceleration and was widening her lead at every stride near the end. For some of the old timers Hint revived memories of Hush Money, another two-year-old with brilliant precocious powers to race from the Tomkinson stable about 30 years ago. Tomkinson has raced few “early” two-year-olds in the meantime, but in Hint, he had a neatly-packaged material for early speed, and

the others struggled in vain to match that brand of sharp speed yesterday. Hint was bred in Southland by Mr Peter Pinckney, a son-in-law of the late Mr Tom Lowry. However, when Mr Pinckney. was killed in an air accident the filly was taken over by the Lowry estate, and Tomkinson will be in consultation with a member of the Lowry family as to the next race for the speedster. Hint is by the imported Three Legs (by Petingo),

which was imported to stand at the Lowry-owned Okawa Stud. Hint’s dam, Re-Enter, was got by Faux Tirage from Return Flight and descends from the famous Francolin, ancstress also of the champion three-year-old filly, Our Flight. Brilliant sprinters from the branch of the family to which Hint belongs were Ajasco and Silver Liner. A brother of Hint will be offered at the Trentham sales in January.