Dinesh Pujar's Vertex made a valiant start-to-finish bid in The Midnight Cowboy Cup, and passed the winning post more than three lengths clear of hot favourite Ashkan. The day's feature was the first race of the season for maiden three year olds, and had attracted a full complement of a dozen starters. On the basis of some smart track work in the company of seasoned stablemates, Ashkan was confidently supported at half-money. Jockey Gnaneshwar was a picture of confidence as he settled Ashkan behind the early leader Vertex, and remained in the box seat as they entered the straight. Jockey Narender on Vertex found Ashkan looming on his outside, and at this stage, asked the filly for her final effort. Vertex began to move out under pressure, and was soon racing towards the outer strip of the track. Ashkan continued to race alongside the frontrunner, and a helpless Gnaneshwar soon found his mount racing on the sand track. It ceased to be a contest thereafter, as Vertex began to draw away from the field. Gershwin put in some good work at the end to finish a nose behind the favourite in third place. The expected objection was soon lodged and the red cone hoisted. What intrigued most knowledgeable racegoers was the "nature" of the objection. Gnaneshwar made a mistake of accusing Narender for "bumping and boring". It was pretty clear to all those who had seen the race in real time, that the two horses did not come close to each other. The question of bumping did not arise. The same point was proved by the numerous slow motion replays shown on the screens. The Stewards had no option but to throw out the objection as it was technically incorrect. Vertex was lucky to retain the prize, because a properly worded and technically correct objection could have gone either way. Dinesh Pujar thus completed a double, as he had earlier scored with Hurricane Spirit in a seven furlong race for horses in the lowest Class. Gaurav Sapra made full use of the early slow pace, and pushed his mount to the front. Hurricane Spirit continued to hold the advantage till the very end, and emerged an easy victor of this race. His job was made easier by the fact that the favourite Vertical Limit got knocked around till well into the straight. The mare made a final dash to take the second spot ahead of a tiring Raging River. Vertical Limit should win her next start. The other professional to score more than once was trainer Kamath. He won with Roto Rooa and Maratha Conqueror. Both these horses were ridden by lesser jockeys and were rank outsiders. Noorulla brought Roto Rooa from the rear and scored a rare victory. He was able to peg back the challenge from Opera Princess with ease. Jockey Ravi partnered Maratha Conqueror to a pillar to post win in the closing event of the day. This rider was a 5 kg apprentice till a few months back, and lost his allowance because of his advancing age. His average abilities were enough to guide this horse, who was obviously a cut above class in the present set of runners. Star Blue ran on to finish a close second ahead of a heavily whipped Ryder. Favourite Pal Joey was trotted near the starting gates and found to be lame. He was declared a non-starter. The opening day’s races went poorly for the punters. Six outsiders scored in the seven event card, underscoring the fact that it is difficult to maintain form after a gap of six months. The only fancied runner to oblige was Vishal Yadav's Ambiens. This nine year old was able to open up a huge lead at the bend, and this helped him in finally lasting out to score by half a length. Mr Magic came with a determined bid in the final stages, but to the relief of his numerous supporters, apprentice Himanshu was able to keep the favourite in front. Boston Ranger ran on to finish a reluctant third. This horse likes it longer than todays sprint, and will be too good to miss over a mile and more. The most impressive performance of the day came from Monappa's Amazing One. In a mile race for horses in Class II, the betting was cantered around Gold Grid, Brown Sugar and Red Key Point. Amazing One was available at 6's and over. With Red Key Point playing truant at the gates, the field was reduced to nine runners. Apprentice Shiva Kumar kept Amazing One behind a nuch of no-hopers and essayed his challenge in the final two furlongs. They began to pick up a bunch of tired horses, and soon found themselves in front. It became a procession thereafter. Amazing One cantered away from Cafe Coffee, who occupied the second place. A hard ridden Brown Sugar finished a faraway third. The rest were not even sighted.