[4] In August he started 13/8[4] favourite for the Gimcrack takes over six furlongs at York and won from Sayajirao a colt who went on to win the Irish Derby and the St Leger Stakes in the following year.
[4] Petition began his second season in the Henry VIII Stakes at Hurst Park Racecourse, a trial race for the 2000 Guineas, and won by ten lengths from Sayajirao.
[5] Following this race he was considered the only horse likely to challenge the undefeated Tudor Minstrel in the Guineas,[6] but his chance was lost just before the start when he reared up and fell backwards.
[3] On his four-year-old debut, Petition recorded his first success for a year when he won the Victoria Cup, a seven furlong handicap race carrying a weight of 129 pounds.
[7] In July he was moved up in distance for one of Britain's most prestigious and valuable weight-for-age races, the Eclipse Stakes over ten furlongs at Sandown Park Racecourse.
He was ridden by Ken Gethin, he started at 8/1 in a field which included Migoli (who had won the race in 1947), Sayajirao and the future American champion Noor.
The independent Timeform organisation gave him a peak annual rating of 130 in 1948, placing him five pounds below the top-rated older horses Arbar and Tenerani.