With Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Mysore frozen by Glanders, Mumbai’s thin six-race card suddenly looked like a festival of abundance. Sure, it was a dull offering on paper, but when the rest of the racing map has gone dark, even a modest flicker feels like a floodlight. In a week starved of action, Mumbai’s barely-there programme was not just acceptable, it was a welcome lifeline.

Champion trainer Pesi Shroff demonstrated the golden rule of big stables: if one flops, another one pops. Santissimo, returning after surgery and a long holiday since the Super Mile run in March at Chennai, went into the A C Ardeshir Trophy as the crowd’s sentimental favourite. The public, bless them, forgot that time off can do to form what Mondays do to morale.

Sure enough, after leading boldly, Santissimo hit the wall in the final furlong, just in time for stablemate Psychic Star to power past with a turn of foot so sharp it could’ve sliced the silence in the stands. Once You Go Black arrived from the darkness to steal second, nudging out the tired favourite. Regina Memorabilis stayed true to her name by producing a run that is best forgotten. Psychic Star? She’ll keep shining, provided race conditions continue pampering her.

The Behram Cama-trained Nebula then delivered the day’s first proper spark. The impeccably bred Lady Scarlet, a full sister to the Sprinters Cup diva Time And Tide, hogged the betting limelight but ran like she needed a pep talk. Elevate did the early labour, Lady Scarlet looked like she was waiting for an invitation, and Nebula zoomed in from nowhere to blow past them with a five-length ‘don’t-blink’ demolition. Mystica and Margaretta filled the frame.

In the Samuel Nathan Plate, Imtiaz Sait’s You played a cruel joke on punters by drifting in the odds, right before romping home like a horse who’d always intended to win. Apprentice Aditya Waydande took off in the straight and never looked back. We Still Believe, squeezed out and sulking at the start, confirmed once again that belief alone doesn’t win races.

Pesi’s second punch landed when Trevor Patel guided Brasilier to victory in the Sir Rahimtoola Chinoy Cup, sidestepping a riderless Hagabis who was wandering around like it had forgotten its GPS settings. Giant Gold chased without menace and Ekatarina’s passage was so messy she might as well file a complaint at the Stewards’ desk.

The Jayant & Champak Shah Trophy brought back Big Bay, the former Poonawalla Multi Million hero who took a sabbatical after a Bangalore flop. Back on home turf, he remembered who he was. Yash Narredu sent him to the front and that was that. Eagle Day chased without hope and Shrisa completed the frame in a three-horse field where participation was half the achievement.

The day kicked off with Believe turning from longshot to favourite in the Ibrahim A Rahimtoola Trophy. But the original favourite Ariyana Star drifted out like a bad stock before storming through the pack in the straight, leaving Believe warming up far too late to matter. Red Merlot edged Majestic Warrior for third, because someone had to.