Sotomayor, Hilly's Halo the Sunday bankers

Anthony Nunes' SOTOMAYOR and Gary Subratie's United States importee HILLY'S HALO are bankers in their respective sections of this afternoon's divided seven-furlong open allowance.

HILLY'S HALO should easily make it four in a row in division two, running with 110lb, the lightest she has ever been, whereas SOTOMAYOR should rebound from his mind-boggling defeat as even-money favourite last month at nine furlongs and 25 yards.

It wasn't simply that SOTOMAYOR lost as the favourite on July 14 at what was expected to be an ideal trip, carrying a featherweight 110lb with leading rider, apprentice Anthony Thomas - it was how he lost that left punters befuddled, never in the hunt, finishing almost a distant fifth.

At times, horses put in performances that simply have to be written off, thrown out the window, it never happened. Ironically, that was the second nine furlongs and 25-yard race in which SOTOMAYOR had 'underperformed'.

On March 31, SOTOMAYOR - 1-5 favourite - took forever to come forward with Thomas and lost by a short head to UNCLE VINNIE, a performance that was corrected by Panamanian Dick Cardenas at a mile, followed by an equally good run, also at a mile, though going down by three-quarter length to RADICAL.

It could very well be that SOTOMAYOR has a preference for races coming out of the mile chute where he had pulled off his famous Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes victory over SHE'S A MANEATER.

Meanwhile, 4-5 favourite WILL IN CHARGE made yesterday's 10-furlong Prime Minister's Stakes look like an exercise gallop, making all the running with Robert Halledeen, easily beating SUPERLUMINAL and PERFECT NEIGHBOUR.

Carrying topweight 126lb, Robert Pearson's chestnut horse was eased close home by Halledeen, winning in a moderate 2:08.0 in a graded stakes race in which he was the lone speed.

ANOTHER BULLET, a 3-5 favourite, was also an easy winner of the six-and-a-half furlong Seek Exercise Book co-feature, swooping down on WONG DON and JAMAI RAJA coming off the home turn.

Pushed out by Cardenas, the six-year-old horse moved away to win in 1:19.1 ahead of UNCLE FRANK.