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W E I G H I N G I N By Evan Shipman BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y.,4 May 14; Royal Vale and White Skies want no part of Native Dancer Saturday, the connections of both good horses deciding at the last minute that discretion is the better part of valor. This renewal of the time-honored Metropolitan Handicap, will naturally, suffer from their absence, they being strictly the ones who were calculated to give Alfred G. Vanderbilts gray champion his real opposition." As late as mid-afternoon Thursday, Royal Vales trainer, Jim Ryan, told us that it was still undecided whether to risk conclusions with the gray or to reserve the imported horse for the far easier Massachusetts Handicap next Wednesday at Suffolk Downs. No word from Tommy Root, conditioner of the sensational sprinter, White Skies, was available, but this decision might have been foreseen, White Skies having several handicap engagements at his preferred distance that a victory or even a strong showing in Saturdays Metropolitan might compromise. AAA In the regretted absence of this pair, Greentrees Straight Face must pick up the challenge. The Count Fleet gelding, who will be receiving 13 pounds in actual weight from Native Dancer, is a rather shaky substitute for either Royal Vale or White Skies, but he definitely possesses more interesting qualifications than the eight others bold enough to oppose the Vanderbilt entry of last years champion plus the good handicap performer, Find, while he may be in better form right now than at any time since his impressive victory in the 53 renewal of the Flamingo at Hialeah. AAA Straight Face, many observers feel, was always cut out to be a top thoroughbred. I We have never seen him at anything like his best, our one and only glimpse of Straight Face being when his trainer, George Pool, brought him to the West Coast last winter for a go at- the rich Santa Anita Maturity. En route from Miami to Los Angeles, the Count Fleet gelding, like many others who have attempted a similar invasion, completely went off form. It would be foolish and unfair to judge Straight Face on what he showed that afternoon, particularly since that bad race flatly contradicted all the available evidence. AAA Pool, naturally, felt miserably about the whole business. Although the young trainer I Two Main Foes Dodge Native Dancen Straight Face Looms as Top Threat Most Exciting Renewal of Feature never said any such thing, we had the feeling that the whole trip had been ill advised, Straight Face being a thoroughbred whose form has always been mercurial. He is coming up to Saturdays engagement the most important of his rather checkered career off a splendid victory in Pirnlicos Dixie Handicap last week, but there was no Native Dancer in that field. As for the others who will be doing their best such as it is-to extend the big fellow during the course of the Metropolitan Mile, well, they are just horses. A A. A Little or no argument exists among us old-timers as to which was the most dramatic renewal of the Metropolitan in our experience. It was, of course, the race for 1934 in which Equipoise, for the third time in succession, finished in front, but in which the "Chocolate Soldier" was disqualified for bearing in on Mr. Khayyam in the drive. That incident, and the suspense while the stewards were pondering Equipoises fate, was enough and some to spare to make this a memorable occasion, but the sad, fatal accident that had befallen Mrs. Bosleys romantic campaigner, Chase Me, at the top of the Belmont stretch, was still such a vivid picture to most of us that we paid but small heed to the objection when it was lodged. A graduate of the hunting field and the showring, Chase Me came up to that Metropolitan engagement with an unblemished record in flat competition, his series of victories including a score over Pete Bostwicks brilliant Mate. A A This Metropolitan was to be Chase Mes supreme test, nor was he by any means a beaten horse that day when, he crossed his legs and fell as the field fanned out turning for home. At that period in his career, we were all fully aware that Equipoise was a rare, great horse, and we also understood the physical infirmity pitifully shelly feet that caused the C. V. Whitney champion to wince and bear in under extreme pressure, but there was still ja great deal concerning the unfortunate Chase Me that we did not know, and that we were eager to learn. His death was a tragedy to Mrs. Bosley and a misfortune to the turf. AAA Until the next to last obstacle, yesterdays Spring Maiden Steeplechase was as pretty a contest as you could wish to see, the favored King Commander and Shipboard racing on even terms, and there was little to choose between these well schooled, accomplished fencers. Throughout the race, Paddy Smithwick on King Commander and Albert Foot on Montpeliers chestnut four-year-old had been watching each other for the slightest hint of a move, neither boy worried at all by Coveted and Indian Fire, this pair setting the pace obviously on suffrance, but each determined that the other should steal no march on him. Along the backstretch, racing as a team, Shipboard and King Commander displaced the early leaders, drawing off although both boys had their mounts under a snug hold. AAA Between the turns, the clip was noticeably increased, Shipboard racing on the inside of his rival and holding a very slight advantage. They took the 12th fence together, but here Shipboard made his mistake, and it was all over as far as he was concerned, the chestnut going too deep and tossing A. Foot. King Commander himself took a decided liberty with the final fence, Smithwicks left arm shooting up "to call a cab," as Marshall Cassidy says, but they were perfectly safe by that time. The Brown King five-year-old wos top weight of the group with 153 pounds in the saddle, and we are certain to hear more, from him as the season progresses. AAA More than passing interest may have lain in yesterdays secondary feature, the nine-furlong Discount Purse for three-year-olds. Despite its modest place on the program, this event brought out some highly regarded prospects, several of whom have pointed their sights as high as the imminent Belmont Stakes. Victory here went to Mrs. Ethel D. Jacobs homebred son of Stymie Ally Bal, by Challenger II, Paper, Tiger, this dark bay colt scoring with something to spare after a trip that saw positions changing momentarily. Bred on exactly similar lines to the same stables familiar Joe Jones, Paper Tiger may be a better colt than that one, and it is certain that Hirsch Jacobs has him very much on the up-grade. AAA Quite a bit was expected here of "Buir Hancocks fashionably-bred Limelight, a son of Nasrullah who had sparkling victories in Kentucky to his credit, and who covers the ground in a fashion to delight a horsemans eye. Limelight, making a lightning-like move for jockey Jack West-rope between the turns, moved from the tail-end of the procession to the front in a few strides, but this brush was utterly deceptive, the colt from the Blue Grass flattening out badly after passing the quarter pole. Mr. Fitz pair, Privacy and Full Flight, forced the winner out, and Full Flight may yet give a good account of himself when his races are stretched out to exacting routes.
