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Nine in National Stallion for Colts Summer Tan Looms As Strong Favorite Laugh, Thunder Hole Rated Main Contenders at Belmont To Mrs. Firestones Juvenile BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., May 25.— The National Stallion Stakes, richest juvenile event of the Belmont Park spring meeting, is on the agenda Wednesday, with a field of nine colts slated to dispute the five furlongs on the Widener straight course. Mrs. R. A. Firestones Summer Tan, winner of the Youthful Stakes at Jamaica and a close second to Nashua in the Juvenile at this track, looms a strong choice Wednesday. Summer Tann had some difficulty in that race and a foul claim lodged against the winner was not allowed. Nashua came back to finish second to the unbeaten Royal Note in the Cherry Hill Stakes at Garden State, but is not in Wednesdays test. Dave Gorman replaces Eric Guerin on Summer Tan and the colt will carry 122 pounds, the same burden assigned all the others except Silas Mason n.s Hickory Stick, who gets a five-pound allowance as one of the first crop of Better Self. Hickory Stick was narrowly beaten by Belairs Anacostia in his only start on a sloppy track. The chief rivals, on paper, to Summer Tan appear to be Wheatley Stables Laugh, C. T. Chenerys Thunder Hole, Mrs. George D. Wideners Islander and Mrs. J. R. H. Thourons Fast and Far. Laugh was a soundly beaten third in the Juvenile, finishing eight lengths behind Slimmer Tan, but the brother to Hilarious came back to win a maiden race in front-ranning style a week ago. Ted Atkinson will ride Mr. Fitz charge. Expect Improvement Thunder Hole beat Islander a length and a half here on May 14, with Fast and Far another length away at the end of a fast race. However, this was Islanders debut and the son of Polynesian did not appear to be abused when challenged by the thoroughly seasoned winner. Fast and Far was also making his debut in that event and came back with a fair race on Saturday, finishing third to the brilliant Commonwealth and the surprising Final Pole. Improvement can be expected from both of these colts. . Jim Nichols, a specialist with juveniles, will ride Thunder Hole, while Hedley Woodhouse will be on Islander and Jack Westrope is to pilot Fast and Far. The National Stallion field is completed by T. W. Baker, Jr.s Sky Bim, Eugene Con-stantin, Jr.s Indicative and Perne L. Gris-spms Inahmoud, who will probably be the outsiders of the field. Last year, Llangollen Farms Porterhouse scored his first stakes victory in the National Stallion, going on to become the champion of the generation of 1951 with, victories in the Christiana and Futurity Stakes. Incidentally, at only 2.90, Porterhouse was the longest priced National Stallion winner since the advent of the mutuels in 1940. From 1898, when Tod Sloan won the inaugural on Jean Bareaud, through 1947, the National Stallion was for juveniles of both sexes, while beginning with 1948 it has been run in colt and filly divisions. Among the memorable winners were Tanya, Colin, Sweep, Chance Shot, Blue Larkspur and Equipoise. More recently, the National Stallion has been won by such good ones as Attention, Some Chance, Jet Pilot, My Request and Tahitian King, while it was the only stakes victory in the brief career of the promising young stallion, Mr. Busher.
