A lush green and immaculate looking track awaited racegoers as they trooped into The Bangalore Turf Club on the opening day of the Summer Season. Regular rains in the city over the last few weeks had ensured a penetrometer reading of 5.0. The news that more than 75 well-performed horses from various centres had arrived in the city, added to the excitement. It was obvious that racing would be keen and competitive during this period, and winner picking was going to be a difficult proposition. But what finally transpired on the track during the afternoon was quite disastrous for the punters. Well-backed horses failed repeatedly, and barring Carla, not a single public choice managed to score in the eight races framed for the day. The tone was set in the very first race of the season, when money-back favourite Lad King made heavy weather of his duel with Arabian Gold, and surrendered without a fight. In the very next race, a 200/1 rank outsider named Shuddering, went to the front and lasted out to keep a couple of fancied runners at bay. These are rare happenings at Bangalore. Horses seldom run at such short prices, and a winner paying 2,336 for a tenner happens once in a couple of years. Another feature of the day's proceedings was the fact that not a single professional scored more than once during the afternoon.

The Krishnaraja Wadiyar Cup, a sprint handicap for horses in the highest class, happened to be the day's feature. A small group of eight accepted to face the starter. It appeared to be a match race between Carla (Burden Of Proof – Cool Jazz) and Sirono. The two four-year-old fillies, apart from being the youngest in this set, had the form to tackle their opponents. They had clashed at level weights last summer, and a camera print had been required to separate them on that day. While the sparingly raced Sirono had raced successfully for Prithviraj, and climbed steadily up the ladder, Carla had managed to pick up a few niggling problems. Her progress was hampered by these impediments, and she was given a short break. Her return to a race track was quite spectacular. While carrying a heavy impost, she slammed a Class III field and was immediately promoted to Class I. A broken blood vessel in her next start took a lot of punters money down the drain. Although Carla was receiving seven kilos from Sirono, and looked like a "certainty" on paper, they did not have the guts to back her confidently today. Trainer Attaolahi chose to lighten the "bandaged" filly's burden by declaring apprentice Nausad Alam to guide her fortunes.

The race was run at a modest pace with Classic Charge seizing the early initiative and showing the way to Sirono, Kingdomofdreams and Carla. All of them were racing well within themselves as they took the rising ground and turned for home. Appu pulled out his stick near the bend and urged Classic Charge to go further. He responded gamely and kicked ahead of a hard-ridden pair of Sirono and Carla. The three of them formed a line inside the final furlong, before Carla, on the wide outside, asserted her superiority and won in a close finish from Sirono and Classic Charge. Only a length separated the first three finishers. Lad's Gladiator rallied late to end a faraway fourth. While it is acknowledged that "Carla's first run of the season is her best", it remains to be seen how Attaolahi plans her campaign for the rest of the season. In the absence of quality sprinters at this centre, the filly has to only remain sound to win again.

The Mayor's Cup was the added attraction in the day's card. Well-performed three-year-olds like Silken Touch, Preordained, Lovely Kiss and Migrolino were running for the first time in "open" company. On all known form, and her close finish behind the talented Tiberius in her latest start, Attaolahi's Silken Touch was the rage in this race. In the hands of Zervan, the filly was expected to tackle the seven furlongs with ease. The sight of a riderless Preordained running loose on the track, and a helpless Srinath lying flat on the turf, enthused punters to go nap on Silken Touch. The odds on her contracted to 75/100 at race time. Lovely Kiss (Rebuttal – Raisin) was backable at 7/2 while you could write your own card on the others. What unfolded in the race turned out to be an anti-climax. Both Chary on Lovely Kiss and Zervan astride Silken Touch bided their time behind early leaders Scarlet Knight and Crown Vision till the runners straightened for home. Chary chose to take the shortest route while Zervan came with his run on the wide outside. Lovely Kiss powered away to a smashing victory and made Silken Touch look quite ordinary. Deep Blue Sky came with a late bid to finish close behind the favourite. Lovely Kiss made a fine impression and the compactly built filly looks destined to climb much higher in the rating charts.

A couple of events for maiden three-year-olds were conducted during the afternoon. A sprint event started the day's proceedings. Neil Darashah's Lad King was considered to be unbeatable in this race. In his most recent start, he had finished a fair fourth in a "Maiden's Million" at Mumbai. The bookmakers were reluctant to offer any odds on him, and he started as a money-back favourite to win this race. Allowing Magnomical and Arabian Gold (Tejano – sabre dance) to lead till the bend, jockey Ladjadj Stephane was a picture of confidence astride this public fancy. He joined issue with the leaders in the final furlong and was dismayed to find nothing in the tank after pulling out his stick. On the other hand, Neil Callow began his Indian campaign on a winning note. Arabian Gold responded strongly to his urgings and darted away to a bloodless victory. Lad King shortened his strides in the straight and was seen to be plodding at the finish.

The other babies race was run over seven furlongs. The well-performed pair of Castro and Dancerella (Sunday Doubt – One Uttama) was equally fancied in this event. While Arjun Mangalorkar's Dancerella had been the bridesmaid a couple of times over a similar trip, Castro had burst his blood vessels over a mile in late February. Castro had been subjected to some vigorous workouts, while Dancerella had been prepared steadily on the training track. The big-made Castro looked wonderful in the paddock and received all-round support to start as a firm favourite in this race. Callow took him to the front and tried to make all the running. Dancerella and Top Secret raced close behind him while the others were outpaced from the very beginning. Castro came under pressure near the home bend and began to send distress signals at this stage. Top Secret and Dancerella strode away from him and treated those present in the stands to an electrifying finish. C Alford managed to seize the advantage in the final stages of this race, and pushed Dancerella to a slender victory over Top Secret. Castro finished a long way back in third.

Satish Narredu's Gun Salute (Warrshan – Seriously Nicole) overpowered a helpless Admiral and cantered away to win the first race of his career. Receiving eight kilos from Admiral, the three-year-old relished the underfoot conditions. On the basis of some smart trackwork, Admiral was installed as an on-money favourite, but the small-made horse found the top weight a stopper. Srinath managed to take him to the front, but that was all he could do. Once Admiral started to slow down in front, a couple of horses came charging at him. While the Appu-ridden Gun Salute coasted ahead for an easy victory, even One Cool Cat came strongly and deprived him of the second berth. The other division of this race was won by Darius Byramji's Shuddering (Hurricane State – Shuddabot). This horse looked gross in the paddock and the bandages that he sported did not enthuse his supporters. Shiva Kumar chose to race him prominently from the very beginning, and the horse showed a lot of ability to keep the fancied pair of Gold Venture and Dancing Emeralds at bay. Shuddering was perhaps the longest priced runner in recent memory to win a race on the local track.

The Only other race in the day's card saw a nice gamble being landed by the Prithviraj stable. North Cape (Placerville – Rivendell) was a discard from Padmanabhan's yard and was acquired a couple of months ago by Prithviraj. The trainer sharpened North Cape on the training track and entrusted him to apprentice Kiran Rai. He was backed down from 6/1 to 5/2 in the betting rings and was fancied by the connections to topple Gunpowder. The latter had won a race at a similar mark in winter and had come back to his old rating. North Cape led from the start and made full use of his weight advantage. He made Gunpowder carry the extra ten kilos and cantered away from him. Despite John making free use of his whip, Gunpowder was unable to go anywhere close to the winner.