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r- ,,,,, • Weighing In ,. —By £von Shipman Nances Lad Appreciates Absence of Nashua Jabneh Looms Dark Horse in Belmont Stakes Saratoga Passing Up Race, Stays at Delaware BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., June 6.— Nances Lad is not going to be compared with either Swaps or Nashua, nor has this fast and honest Slide r- ,,,,, Rule Rule colt colt the the class class of of Nashuas Nashuas Rule Rule colt colt the the class class of of Nashuas Nashuas runner-up in the recent Preakness, Saratoga, but, for all that, Hilton Dabsons bay three-year-old can more than hold his own when he is not required to meet the acknowledged leaders/ of the division. His Peter Pan. handicap score last Saturday could not have been more clear-cut, and although, with 121 in the saddle, Cain Hoys Flying Fury was conceding ceding .the .the winner winner a a pound. pound, • ceding .the .the winner winner a a pound. pound, . Nances Lad bested his opposition with such authority in what passed for a drive that we believe he would have won almost as easily under scale weight. Strongly favored, he never left his many partisans in much doubt of the issue, a .strong move along the rail between the three,-eighths and quarter pole carrying him to the fronf. And then, try as he would, the Count Fleet colt, Portersville, could make no impression on that lead. The time for this often revealing test, won last year by High Gun and in 51 by Counterpoint, was an excellent 1:48% for the nine furlongs, while, as has been said, jockey J. Choquette could afford to take in the scenery as he and his mount coasted to the wire. When Nashua has tangled with Nances Lad, it is, of course, a far different story, but what you have to like and respect about this colt, bred and trained by his owner, is that defeats, up to the present, in no way dampen his ardor; he gives his best when he is forced to meet the top ones, and when those formidable rivals are on the sidelines, that best is plenty good enough to give the secondary features to Nances.Lad. Viewed Preakness on Television Saratogas absence from the field for the Belmont Stakes this Saturday i§ regretable,. indeed. His presence probably -would assure the classic not being a mere exhibition for Belairs Nashua. Remaining here on Long Island for the. running of the Coaching Club American Oaks, we only saw the Preakness on the television screen in the jockeys room, but on that evidence, we know that Montpeliers temperamental Blenheim H. colt gave our local champion a whale of a run for the money, while when the travelers returned from Baltimore, we were told that this was Nashuas top effort. Even on the screen, it was evident to us that Nick Shuk was giving Saratoga a "million-dollar" ride, and also that the Blenheim II. colt was responding willingly to his energetic young riders appeal. At the end, Nashua drew away to win by a length and we were left in no doubt that he was the best and deserved to win. Nevertheless, as seen on the television, it did look as if Eddie Arcaro, with a whole race track at his disposal, was riding Saratoga rather close, nor could we help wondering whether Shuk was free to employ his whip as he might have liked. In Florida last winter, Nashua definitely did bother Saratoga at the finish of Hialeahs Flamingo Stakes, although his guilt was not sufficient, in the eyes of the stewards, to cause the Belair colts number to come down. From our first look at Saratoga last summer, we were well aware that this was a colt of almost infinite possibilities. As the 54 season progressed, in trainer Frank Bonsais skillful hands, Montpeliers promising juvenile amply confirmed his promise, looking in the fall like one who would have no trouble carrying his speed the classic distances. The only reservations that we entertained concerning Saratoga then," and the only one we make now, were on the score of temperament; he is a typical Blenheim II., with the high-strung nervous organization, often unruly, that this breeding implies. This colts dam is the Blue Peter mare, Ship Shape n. She is English, of course, and we do not know at all what influence, for good or bad, that blood would have on the "hot" Blenheim n. strain. Here in this country, Calumet has long employed Bull Leas temperate influence to mitigate the vagaries of Blenheim II., this cross achieving notable success. The Bull Leas are as intelligent and mild in character as the imported strain is notional; when the two are blended, Calumet has been wonderfully lucky in that the more desirable traits appear to predominate. Lawrence" Candidate Won Two With Ease If any "dark horse" intrudes in the picture here on Saturday, we .expect it to be Laudy Lawrences Jabneh, a Bimelech — Bellesouer, by Beau Pere colt, who has been brought along carefully this spring with the Belmont Stakes as his one great objective. Winner of his last two starts with utmost ease, Jabnehs present form is hard to judge. Those contemporaries he defeated with such brio were not the best, and it may well turn out far differently when this good-looking, well-bred three-year-old is matched with such as Nashua and Saratoga. Still, Jabnehs connections have every right to hope, and they can also be sure that there will not be a colt with a finer pedigree in the Belmont field. Well do we recall the impression made on us by Jabnehs dam, as beautiful a mare as you are likely to see, and this handsome son does Bellesoeur credit. A work tab just this morning shows Laudy Lawrences colt working a mile and three-eighths here in 2:21%, mile and a quarter in 2:08%. While he was not breaking any watches, this was an excellent move in view of Saturdays engagement, and we wir do well not to discount Jabneh in advance.
