SURPRISE IN SPRINT

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 132, 2 December 1930, Page 8

SURPRISE IN SPRINT

TENTERDEN COMES TO LIGHT

The Colyton Handicap provided the.star finish, of the meeting, the three placed horses crossing the line practically together andr the verdict being in doubt till the numbers were hoisted. The decision jwas for Tenterden,. rank outsider of the small field, with Autopay (on the rails) and Just an Idea (outer) dead-heated for eecond, half a head away. Just; an Idea jsvould have won in another stride. . Cuticle moved away more smartly than lAutopay, Tenterden, or First Money, but the last-named quickly ran up to second, and followed Cuticle to the straight, with lAutopay, Tenterden, and Kahikatoa ;in pursuit. The leading pair were soon settled, and Autopay took charge at the distance, but Tenterden was alongside Jiim and fighting every stride, while Just an Idea came from the back1 and joined issue, over the last half-furlong. Tenterden forged his way ahead of Autopay in the final few strides, but he .was lucky that Just an Idea did not challenge a pioment earlier than he did. First Money Svas a poor fourth, and Royal Ruler, Kahikatoa, and Cuticle followed in .that order. ■■-' '■'■■■' . ■'. v : '.'■ "■■<'■"' > Autopay and Just an Idea were betterfancied than First .Money,. with, 'everything else at a .good price, Tenterden, jwho has been showing gradual.. improvement lately, was at a little under double figures. He cost the late Mr. C. Elgar 2300 guineas as a yearling at the 1929 Trentham sales, and has now won £1215 in stake-money in less than a year's racing. His last win was when he sprang a. surprise in the Wellington' Stakes last January. Autopay carried his ■■ increased weight well, and more than confirmed-the .opinion that he is one of the gamest three-year-old sprinters in the country; Just an Idea was unlucky, and his fine-finishing run demonstrates that he is coming into better form than any-he touched last season. The others in the field were well beaten. , ' • . .. -'