Opening day of the now-regular Saturday and Sunday weekend cards was dubbed the Summit of Speed with six of the races run over 800 metres, four over 1000 metres and two over 1,300 metres on the 11-race promotion.

Naturally, with leading reinsman and 2018 champion Anthony Thomas securing seven and chief protagonist Dane Nelson booked on nine rides, the main talking point of pundits was whether or not the latter on 74 could reduce with some significance the five-win lead held by the former.

Victor Williams’ potentially progressive sprinter Highly Bless, piloted by Omar Walker for the first of two wins on the day for this rider, justified long odds-on favouritism in winning the opening event, thus confirming the promise showed in replicating the 45.4 clocking posted for his maiden triumph to make it two from as many career starts over the 800-metre distance.

Shrewd conditioner Spencer Chung elected to fit blinkers to his fairly consistent four-year-old filly Unknown Soldier and it worked like a charm in the day’s second, as Aaron Chatrie did not have to expend any energy this time to keep her concentrating on being in the front rank to register her third win on this her 11th appearance.

Thomas was the first to visit the winners’ enclosure when Wayne DaCosta’s recent $450,000 acquisition Mamacita won the third running against inferior opposition for a claiming tag reduced by $200,000.

Short-priced favourite Zi Beast (Roger Hewitt), trained by Ryan Darby, obliged in the fourth to give the apprentice his first of two wins on the day. Hewitt’s double was confirmed when US-bred Chitu Prince made all the running in the fifth event to shed his maiden tag for trainer Marvin Campbell.

Robert Pearson’s USA-importee Solid Approach recovered from a slow start to produce an irresistible late turn of finishing speed to secure Walker’s second win in the afternoon’s sixth.

Gary Subratie presented Nuclear Noon in front-running condition in the seventh for jockey Dane Dawkins’ first of two successes in landing the feature Royal Lancaster Trophy.

The juvenile colt was well off the early pace in his two previous starts when making the frame in those races but secured the early advantage and increased it throughout to win by nearly seven lengths on this occasion.

Predictably,, the eighth and ninth was won by heavy favourites Enuffisenuff and Secret Traveller, respectively, for title-chasing pair of jockey/trainer combination Dane Nelson and Anthony Nunes to improve their statistics.

However, there was no further success for Thomas or Nelson but the jockey championship contest was left closer at 80 and 76 to add fuel to the debate.

Veteran Paul “Country” Francis is attracting better mounts of late and had an easy 10-length runaway aboard maiden Wifey Sez So in the 10th for trainer Vincent Atkinson.

In the nightcap, failed Classic aspirant Mahogany returned to winning ways in dominant fashion in scoring by six lengths and posting 1:16.1, which is the next fastest time ever over 1,300 metres at 3/5th of a second slower than the track record held by the great sprinter Eros since 1993.

The Training Feat Award is presented to Ian Parsard for the conditioning of Mahogany, with the gelding’s performance — clearly the most flawless of the 11 — being deemed the Best Winning Gallop while Dane Dawkins, for his handling of his two winners, is recognised with the Jockeyship Award.

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