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q p t c r s t s t v j j j j , . . 4q. Attention Defeats Pictor I InMetropolitan Handicap j Favorite Covers Mile in 1 :36 Under Top Weight of 126 Pounds ELMONT, L. I., N. Y., May 16. Another important American turf fixture fell to one of the sons of the celebrated ill-fated Equipoise at Belmont Park this after- noon when Mrs. Parker Comings fleet Attention carried his top weight of 126 pounds to a clean-cut triumph in the 49th running of the 0,000 Metropolitan Mile, a fixture in which his sire flashed first under the wire on top in two consecutive seasons. Smoothly handled by jockey Don Meade and reserved off a tremendous early pace, Attention curved around the leaders straightening for the run past the cheering throng in the packed stands, then moved off to win by a length and a naif in the creditable time of 1:36, a second and two-fifths .behind Jack Highs stake and track record. W. L. Branns Maryland-bred Pictor and Louis Tufanos stretch-running. Market Wise charged by beaten horses through the final furious furlong to fight it out for second and third awards, with Pictor prevailing by a neck. Best Seller, a promi- nent factor early, was a fading fourth. Worth 1,300 to Winner Attentions conquest was enormously popular with the huge Metropolitan day crowd, who installed him the choice, and he returned in the "tote," swelling his own earnings by 1,300. It was, his initial stake success of the season, though he had ,been only a neck behind Whirlaway in the recent Dixie at Pimlico. None of those trailing Albany, New York-owned and reared four -year-old had much apparent excuse in the way this edition of the famed Metropolitan was run. The Metropolitan attracted a gathering that counted 32,724 in the turnstiles, in spite of the curtailment of the use of automobiles and threatening elements. This figure surpassed the 31,667 present for Eight Thirtys Metropolitan in 1941 by a scant margin. Fashion was well represented in the swank Turf and Field club and club-. house sections, while all the notables of . New York racing were out in full force. The day was honored by the presence of the Peruvian president, Manuel Prado, and : a party of his ministers and military aides. . Following the Met the slender South Amer-; ican chief executive appeared in the win- Continued on Page Thirty-Six Attention Victorious in Metropolitan Leads Pictor Home In Belmont Event Market Wise Finishes Third To Corning Colt Fairaris i Qualifies for Withers Mile i Continued from Page One ners ring with William Woodward, Herbert Bayard Swope and George Widener and presented the new Metropolitan tro- , phy, of which he is the donor, to Max ; . Hirsch, who accepted in behalf of Mrs. Corning. Perus president proved quite a showman, making a hit with the crowd by strolling I about the ring and waving his hands and hat to them in acknowledgment of spontaneous cheering. The best part of President Prados visit was that he journeyed to Belmont Park to the Metropolitan, not because of wire pulling, but for the excellent reason that he personally wanted to see the stake. Attention was handled in less precipitant fashion in the Metropolitan than for the Dixie, where he essayed to be with the pace much of the mile and three-sixteenths. He drew No. 4, and Meade worked his way to the outside leaving the gate, contenting himself with moving along lengths back and clear of trouble in the run to the far turn, while Ocean Blue was running Rosetown out of speed, and Boysy and Third Degree were rating nearby. s Mrs. Comings light-waisted brown colt settled in stride smoothly at the half-mile ground and began his steady surge from the outside of the field. His yellow blinkers bobbed past first one, then another slower entrant as he began his bid. When they whirled past the quarter post atop the home lane he was only a length away as Ocean Blues gas-ration card suddenly expired, and Best Seller momentarily forged to the front. Fast Fractional Times Attention pegged back Best Seller rather handily just inside the eighth post and moved away to win by a scant patch of daylight. Boysy, Ocean Blue, Best Seller and the others prominent at the end of a blazing first half in :45 and six furlongs in 1:10 were completely fatigued through the last part of it, and it was no trick at all for the slow-starting Market Wise and Pictor to dart past in a duel for the place award, with the Brann colorbearer prevailing. R. S. McLaughlins Canadian-owned and English-bred Fairaris, an eligible for the Withers, made an auspicious three-year-old debut as he aired to such capable older sprinters as Dispose, Swing and Sway, Birch Rod and Harvard Square, winning by three lengths in 1:10, just two-fifths of a second behind the track record. Burdening with 106 and ridden by Billie Thompson, the big, dark chestnut drew a bead on Dispose after that four-year-old had pegged back- Swing and Sway and the favored Harvard Square going into the turn. He left the Texan panting up the track in a few strides, then coasted majestically away from the field the last eighth. It was virtually "no contest." Dispose lasted to beat Swing and Sway a couple of lengths for the place. Birch Rods vaunted stretch challenge was unavailing, for Fairaris wasnt waiting for any of this field. He paid -.80.
