Dominic trained starlet won the 1200 metres Mayor`s Cup, a race for horses rated 60 and above, the feature event of opening day`s races of the Bangalore Summer Season on Saturday, thanks to the fact that she got a steep drop in weights following her disqualification for breach of medication rules after her win in the Bangalore 1000 Guineas in winter.

Starlet had moved up by 20 points after her win in the Guineas win but with her disqualification, Starlet was put back to her old handicap mark. Plus the seasonal drop of six points meant that she was running 13 kgs less than what she should have if she had retained the Guineas. This perhaps decisively tilted the race in her favour as she got the better of favourite Super Sunshine close home.

Super Sunshine who had recorded a smashing win in his last start was backed enthusiastically to win as the sprint was reckoned to suit him fine. There was also lot of support for Sea Fairey who was five for five despite the trip being sharp. Starlet was available at good odds despite obvious advantage by virtue of the sharpness of trip as also the wide outside draw. Suraj Narredu pushed Super Sunshine to take over the running from Ravello on entering the straight and opened up a useful lead even as Sea Fairey struggled to pick up speed and also get a trouble free passage. In the meanwhile, Starlet who had travelled wide right through, picked up speed, disputed the issue with the favourite and got strong close home to record a facile win though the margin of victory was only half a length. Hidden Soldier ran on to finish third ahead of Sea Fairey who ran way below expectations.

Arjun Mangalorkar who is nursing classic hopes on Astral Rose would perhaps have been happy with the first outing of the Multidimensional filly in the 1400 metres Maj Newton Davis Memorial Cup (Div I), a race for horses rated 30 to 50. Backed to the exclusion of the rest despite the presence of dual race winner Rafa, Aster Rose took a while in the straight to pick up steam before surging clear of Rafa in the final 100 metres. Aster Rose was warming up to the task quite well at the finish and the extended trips should suit her fine. Fair Game ran on to finish third. The lower division of the race proved to be a one horse race as Siobhan who has been relocated from Mumbai, toyed with the opposition while recording a runaway win by a widening margin of nine lengths over Good Fortune. Siobhan appears a good type of youngster. Proudprince nosed out Falme`s Fury to claim the third place.

S John`s perseverance enabled Storm Ahead to edge past long shot My Transcripts in the final moments of 1400 metres Littleover Plate, a race for horses rated 15 to 35. My Transcripts who held a forward positon, shaped to cause a major upset as he broke into a formidable lead in the final furlong. However, Storm Ahead who took a while to gather steam, closed home with a rush to eventually neck out the front runner. Amazing Skill grabbed the third place by necking out Revelnation. Dominic trained Pull The Plug came for big betting but the favourite failed to explode.

M P Mahaesh trained Splendid Splasher was a smashing winner of the 1200 metres Welcome Plate, a race for maiden three year olds at big odds. Splendid Splasher travelled a handy second into the straight before storming ahead in the straight to win by a handsome margin of over four lengths. Lunar Storm headed Szable for the runner up berth. Intrepid Warrior made no show.

Prithviraj trained Serena Ballerina was backed to the exclusion of the rest in the 1400 metres Esquire Trophy, a race for maiden three year olds. The favourite, after opening up a big lead faltered close home as lesser fancied Namid closed the gap with alacrity and managed to overhaul the front runner in the shadow of the post. Golden Success ran on to finish third.

However, those who continued to put faith in Prithviraj trained horses, were rewarded in the very next race when the heavily backed Rare And Famous brooked no opposition as he checked in by a comfortable margin of two lengths over Queens Ace and Miss Ceylon. The last named nosed out Red Admiral for the third place. Galeno who was one of the fancied runners, was not spotted at the busy end at any stage of the race.

Neil Darashah trained Arctic Envoy was one of the strongly backed favourites to let down during the course of the day. Backed to the exclusion of the rest, Arctic Envoy led in earnest and had a sizeable lead going into the final furlong. However, he began to weaken which allowed Aizaan to make a big rally and nail the favourite in the final stages of the race by with a measure of comfort. Dignified was third.