Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1939-12-08
SYNOPSIS

It was post time for the Santa Anita
Handicap. Coronado" the favOrite,
with fourteen victories, pranced on
the track to the applause of the crowd.
Dan Mills, his owner, a sportsman of
high calibre, hung on the rail, watch
ing. He had feeling of apprehen-
sion. Just a few hours ago, he had
collapsed in the tack room and Char
ley Bassitt, horseman of unsavOry re-
putation, had taken Coronado" to the
receiving barn. Thrilling with excite
ment, Dams 18-year-Old daughter,
Heather, watches from her box. In
the unreserved section, stands "Slim"
Maynard and his pal, Snapper" FL
lott. "Slim", born Andrew Branson
Maynard, knew horses; his father had
q string of thoroughbreds when Slim
was a boy, but flood ruined the
Maynard stables and Slim is now on
his uppers.. All he and Snapper could
scrape together was bet on "Coro-
nadO" today. Slim sees Bassitt come
from the $50 window with wad of
tickets and wonders which horse he
was betting on. Coronado, fractions
at the post, pinions his leg on the
stall gate. With the yell, They're
OFF,, he rushes to the lead, apparent
~ uninjured, but before the horses
had gone sixteenth of a mile, Coro-
nado's legs buckled and he crashed
headlong to the ground-dying of a
broken back. The blow is too much
for Dan and, next day, he dies. All
that are left to Heather are breed
ing farm in Carmel Valley and "a
tichOkes", a stable-hand of whom
Coronado was especially fond. Three
days later, Heather sits in the lob
by of the Biltmore Hotel in Los An
geles, crushed and lonely. The place
buzzed with rumors regarding Char
lie Bassitt and CoronadO's "acciden-
tai" death. Artichokes shuffles in to
inform Heather that her bags are
packed and the car ready for their
trip to Carmel Valley. Her despair at
going back is ightened by Artichokes
surprising news that "Sweet Alice.
the little brood mare on the farm, is
"expectin' " and there may be a sue
cessor to Coronado. She named the
colt Knight Errant." In the mean
time, Slim and Snapper were doing
fairly well at Tanforan. One day,
they 60 to court to hear the case of
Sol Berg. a tailor against "FoOts"
O'Day for n0n-payment of bill.
"Foots" owns two no-good platers,
"Susie" and "Cold Cream, which he
had turned over to Berg in lieu Of
cash, but contrived to get back again.
Slim has a chance to buy the two
horses cheaply, which he does, sight
unseen, and they turn out to be plugs.
Knight Errant is now a yearling, who
is very promising and Heather is anx-
iOus to race him against the advice of
her stable-hand, Artichokes. "COld
Cream" races at Bay Meadows and
loses. Slim and Snapper were broke
again. The latter is flabbergasted
when a man to whom he had given a
tip on "COld Cream" hands him q
commission of $780,. The man had
understood Snapper to say "GOld
Stream, winner! - When Heather
takes Knight Errant to Santa Anita
and tries to register her horse, Slim
sees her and recognizes her as the
sad-eyed girl he saw the day Coro-
nadO died. Heather learns that her
horse must have a licensed trainer.
The willy Bassitt introduces himself
rs friend of her late father. He
suggests they give Knight Errant a
trial run. The colt astound the clock
ers, but Bassitt hides his enthusiasm
in front of Heather.