With the format of the Invitation Cup having been changed after much procrastination, Toroloco who finished fourth to In The Spotlight in the last year`s edition has an excellent of winning this year`s event which will be held at India`s oldest turf club, the Royal Calcutta Turf Club on Sunday. RCTC appears to have made an all-out effort to put up an impressive show on what is the biggest weekend of racing of Indian Racing Calendar.

In the past, a horse had only one chance to win the Invitation Cup but now a horse can have many chances as long as he or she qualifies for the race. Legendary horses like Elusive Pimpernel may have won this multiple times if such an opportunity was available those days. In The Spotlight could have been the first horse to win the race twice but for the connections targeting her ambitiously against international competition at Dubai.

Super Storm - winner of the McDowell Indian Derby

Four Grade I races form the part of the Invitation Cup weekend package in addition to a seven furlong graded race for four year olds and over to make for a crowded package of racing. The older horses have dominated these races barring the Invitation Cup which was restricted to four year olds only. Now with that restriction gone, it is possible that all the big races of the week may go the way of older horses. The reason is simple. It is not that the previous year`s horses are superior to the current ones. It is just that they seem to be taking longer time to reach their physical maturity. Though the difference is sought to be adjusted through the difference in weights between four year olds and older horses to equate their chances, it takes an exceptional four-year olds to win these races.

Should the Turf Authorities have such a crowded weekend of racing which tends to de-value some of the races because good horses tend to migrate to other races if they find competition too stiff in these races. It would be excellent if the Invitation Cup races are programmed to be held on one day with only three races being invitational races. With the Invitation Cup being thrown open for older horses as well, the Stayers Cup becomes redundant. In the same way, the seven furlong multi-million can be done away with. If the Turf Authorities of India concentrates on promoting just three races namely the Invitation Cup, the Sprinters Cup and the Super Mile, it will make these races highly competitive. They can enhance the value of these races by significantly increasing the stake money. Surely some food for thought for the turf authorities.

Wind Stream - winner of the Pooanwalla Mysore Derby

The Invitation Cup 2013 has all the classic winning four year olds barring Machiavellianism and Red Baron. The first named bled during the Indian Derby and hence has been side-lined. Red Baron suffered from laminitis after winning the Bangalore Derby. The winners of Bangalore Summer Derby, Mysore Derby, Golconda Derby, Calcutta Derby and Indian Derby are all in the fray. Five year old Toroloco who won last year`s Bangalore Winter Derby and last year`s Calcutta racing sensation Dandified are also competing for the plum. The participation of all these horses is what makes this year`s Invitation Cup unique. The race is sure to evolve into a much bigger race if the turf authorities show courage to invite foreign horses also to participate in this race.

Irfan Ghatala trained Toroloco who is built like a bull, has been a game performer. Within days of moving into Kolkata, he won a 10 furlongs race staving off the late rally of Dandified. Toroloco is a horse who relishes a strong pace and the extra two furlongs. As such, he is bound to improve on his last run and in the absence of two other top performers of last year, In The Spotlight and Smashing, he should get the pride of place as the first seed for the race if one were to borrow the expression from tennis. Dandified is a king on the local surface and being an experienced campaigner, he cannot be taken lightly. Jockey Christopher Alford obviously is exuding confidence which is what made the connections switch him from an easier target of Super Mile to more difficult Invitation Cup.

Borsalino - winner of the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby

Among the four year olds, on their day any one of them can be a winner. Winds Stream was unlucky in the Indian Derby as the luck of the race was against him. He ran into series of problems but was finishing the fastest in the Derby. The pace of the race was pedestrian in the Indian Derby and a stronger pace may enable him to make amends for his failure as a favourite in the mega event in terms of hype, glamour and glitz and stake money. Trainer Ghatala thus holds two aces in the race and only bad luck can prevent him cornering glory.

Satish Narredu trained Super Storm ran above expectations when claiming the Indian Derby. The trainer has campaigned his horse with great optimism and this trait perhaps has rubbed off on the horse who time and again has come up with outstanding performance. He won the Indian Derby against all odds and hence is a champion material. The trainer will be hoping for creating another storm in the East of India.

Snow Scape - winner of the Eveready Calcutta Derby

Vittal Deshmukh broke his Derby jinx when Tintinnabulation won the Golconda Derby after an eternal wait. The got abroad horse finished second in the Calcutta Derby and hence does not have any disadvantage of racing on the track for the first time. He is stoutly bred to stay and has shown vast improvement after being ridden off the pace. The Hyderabad camp is pretty optimistic of a great performance from Tintinnabulation.
An Acquired Taste was an unlucky fourth in the Indian derby as he repeatedly ran into interference in the final two furlongs of the race. He is a light horse and seems to be progressing with each race. Supreme Star (late Shivalik Hero) has been highly regarded by his trainer Malesh Narredu and runs with great hope in the light of remarkable turnaround of gold and brown brigade in the last one month. The Hazara Stud Farm produce which has literally stormed the Indian racing scene by dominating the Indian classics has five representatives in this race and given the high that the stud farm is enjoying, it may not come as surprise if any one of the horses, Super Storm, Tintinnabulation, Supreme Star, An Acquired Taste and Dandified pull it off. The stud farm resident stallion Rebuttal also has an ace in the form of Toroloco who however was bred at the Vikram Greenfields but is partly owned by Nirmal Singh who has taken the Indian breeding scene by storm through his Hazara Stud Farm produce.

Pesi Shroff trained Hemisphere announced his credentials from nowhere to finish a close third in the Indian Derby. Richard Hughes again partners the progeny of Mull of Kintyre. There is great deal of expectation that this horse which is peaking now may produce his best in this race.
Padmanabhan trained Borsalino lost his way after two back to back Derby wins. After running third in the Mysore Derby, he is yet to regain his spark but given the fact that the trainer is a man for the big occasion, Borsalino may be the long shot one may look for in an open race like this. Calcutta Derby winner Snowscape did not have the luck of the race but now back in the familiar environs may run a mighty race.

Tintinnabulation - winner of the Deccan Bookmakers Golconda Derby

The Gr 1 Major P K Mehra Memorial Super Mile is perhaps the weakest in so many years in the absence of a horse with outstanding credentials. The race has always been keenly contested but this year it is hard to spot the winner from among the lot. Arktouros and Chase the Sun are among the best of the local representatives while Star of Gibraltar and Ranthambhore are the top horses from Mumbai. Kohinoor Wish undoubtedly is one of the most prolific horses of Hyderabad. Since he would be running in the Sprinters Cup the previous day, it all depends on the recovery factor. Berlusconi, Immense and Aristos are capable horses but have no encouraging recent form.

The Group 3 Suresh Mahindra Multi-Million, a terms race for four year olds and over, also offers attractive stake money and some of the others who otherwise may have run in the Sprinters Cup and Super Mile have switched to this race. The game performer Optimus Prime is one such who will be a strong contender in the race. If this race was not part of the Invitation Cup weekend package, he would have been in the line-up for the Sprinters Cup. Many of the Sprinters Cup runners will be figuring in this race as well and this race is also one of the highlights of the weekend`s racing.

File photo of Speed Six

Padmanabhan trained Speed Six appears to have the best credentials to win the Gr 1 Sprinters Cup. The Sprinters Cup race often proved to be a graveyard for favourites but looking at the composition of the field, Speed Six definitely has better class. The threat for Speed Six is not the opposition but himself as the temperamental horse has a knack of running into one niggle or the other. Speed Six won the Sprinters Trial Stakes at Bangalore convincingly and in the form that he is in, he should give a bold show. He has been drawn 12 but since he has the ability to settle in any position and quicken from there, this should not prove disadvantageous. Bulls Eye who won a five furlong race back home at Mumbai in record time is trying to take a quantum jump but since one does not know what mark that she can reach, one cannot rule her out. Seven year old Nefyn showed some spark when winning the S C Sprinters Cup which has served as a definite pointer to this race. Bullet and Sunday Storm are the best of the local brigade while Kohinoor Wish is the best performed horse from Hyderabad. Even given the uncertainties associated with this particular race, Speed Six is the one everyone has to beat.

The Stayers Cup has a jaded lot of runners with the well performed Native Knight who lost last year`s race by a whisker getting a chance to make amends. Astapi ran behind In The Spotlight in the Indian St Leger and he shapes as the main threat as he has the services of Richard Hughes. Star Marques has no problem as for as the 3000 metres trip is concerned but he has won just one race in his career. Vijays Champ carries Hyderabad`s hope in the year when horses from this centre have excelled at Bangalore and Mumbai.