- Aurelian, with the longest tooth from among the participants of the terms events during the Invitation Cup weekend, gave a truly gutsy performance when stunning Forest Flair on the post in the Hirco Million. Aurelian`s victory was a tribute not only to the owner, Marthand Mahindra, but also to Jaggy Dhariwal, who showed his career the right direction on his migration from Mumbai, and also his present trainer Bipin Salvi. But Aurelian`s recent trip to Mahalaxmi racecourse would not have been possible were it not for the confidence of jockey Silvestre De Sousa, who expressed regret to his connections for having lost in the trial race for the Sprinters` Cup at Bangalore. The Brazilian born rider gave both Marthand and Bipin the confidence to take the horse to Mumbai. Aurelian was in the reserves for the Sprinters Cup but he failed to gain entry into the event as all the first four nominations opted to run. But this proved a blessing in disguise for Aurelian and his connections. Marthand readily agreed to pay a late entry fee of around Rs 4.5 lac for Aurelian`s participation in the Hirco Million.
Aurelian raced in the front group with Beyond Belief leading the charge from the gates. Forest Flair and Weizhou were also running thereabout. But when the race came to a boil, it was Forest Flair who seemed to be getting stronger and also Weizhou who ranged along side. But De Sousa had adrenaline flowing in his veins and he inspired Aurelian to give his best. The aged son of Pennine Ridge of Wild Rumour dug into his reserves and found enough energy left to give a last ditch attempt. Aurelian`s last dash was such he surely left Forest Flair in a tizzy. Weizhou finished a length away after a gallant effort while Beyond Belief retired to finish in close proximity. There was nothing in Cielo Ray`s performance to write home about as the Bangalore challenger ran as if he has lost his way.

De Sousa is such good form that he`s literally been snatching victories from the jaws of defeat. Earlier in the day, De Sousa stumped Suraj Narredu and the C. D. Katrak saddled filly Beyond Stars on the post to become a multi-millionaire on debut. Bred as own brother to the Indian Derby winner Hotstepper, the Rattonsey family owned progeny of Glory of Dancer came with a powerful run to join the issue with favourite Beyond Stars opposite the stands. Beyond Stars had just overhauled leaders Superior Quest and Ocean Princess and looked to have the race under his control. But he had not contended with furious run of Dear Henry. The dark bay gelding though short of a run showed a lot of courage in responding to the resilient efforts of De Sousa and pinned the filly in his last stride. Superior Quest ended third with Ocean Wish following him. Bullet who was along side Superior Quest at the start was knocked off her stride and Srinath almost got dislodged from the saddle. The colt couldn`t recover from the setback and finished in the rut.
Aboline (Burden of Proof – Super Fan) from Arjun Mangalorkar`s yard was ridden with gusto by Christopher Alford to survive the onslaught of Martin Dwyer ridden Dancing Dynamite in the Major P. K. Mehra Memorial Super Mile Cup (Gr.1). The race was fiercely fought by the contestants and the lead changed many a times during the course of the mile event and it was only after a cliff-hanger of a finish that Aboline asserted his superiority. Aristos ran a big race to finish a close third with Juventus half-a-length behind.

Nazak Chenoy`s protégé Illuminate (Ontario – Asalib) finally entered the winner`s enclosure when Srinath powered the chestnut gelding and got the better of Alize who appeared to have established a winning lead in the straight. De Nada was tied down by the heavy impost on her back and the filly finished a distant third ahead of Visionaire.

The law of averages seemed to have caught up with Saints N Sinners, who was looking for his third straight victory in the last race of the weekend. Karthik Ganapathy saddled Lyrical Lass (Diffident – Spectacular Blood) was driven out by B. Prakash, who has reportedly ended his association with Dr M. A. M. Ramaswamy, to win from Blumarine, Saints N Sinners and Dear Liza.

Earlier in the day, Uday Bhan Singh led in the rank outsider Kalinga Star (Ikhtiyar – Hunan) after his maiden victory over a mile-and-a-quarter trip. The C. S. Jodha ridden Kalinga Star snuffed out the challenge of favourite Sacred Relic close home as also River Minstrel and the early leader Blau Himmel.
Daffodils (Senure – Love Call) was confidently ridden by rookie Trevor Patel to the land the well-planned coup for trainer Mansingh Jadhav and his connections. The bay mare put in a resolute run down the straight to overwhelm favourite Sea Diamond who tried runaway tactics. Ijlal finished in the money ahead of Fantastic.