The brightest moment of the otherwise gloomy day was Solomon’s sizzling performance on the track. Unlike in the SC Jain, Solomon darted ahead readily and held charge all the way. Jockey DK Ashish eased the Pesi Shroff ward smoothly to the front with Brynhill, Maximus following close behind. Dancing Prances made steady progress to fourth spot and the rest were huddled together as they turned for home.

Solomon (Rebuttal – Dahhab, Hazara Stud) stepped on it and showed fine acceleration. Brynhill went all out after the leader with Dancing Prances working his way up closer. DK Ashish put the whalebone to good use and got the best out of Solomon. Solomon lunged forward and kept the momentum going and established his speed quotient beating the best in the business. Brynhill surely is an improved horse. He did extremely well to reverse positions vis-à-vis Dancing Prances and they took the second and third slots respectively. Maximus, who is on his way back to his best, put in a determined effort to cement his place in the frame.

It was ‘King’ Solomon who reigned supreme and bagged the prestigious Attila Sprinters’ Cup (Gr1) with a superb performance. Solomon clocked 1:09:92, his personal best, which was close to the course record of 1:09:62 set by Amadeus in 2012.     

Asked what brought about the huge improvement from his last run, trainer Pesi Shroff said, “If you noticed, he started off well but fell back slightly at the turn. He was stifled a wee bit and that perhaps broke his rhythm and he couldn’t take off the way he usually does in the straight. This time round, he was fluent all through and in the straight he had a clear run all the way through. He quickened well and galloped in full flow. Everything went perfectly well on the day.”

Dr Vijay Mallya led in the sprint champion proudly. “It’s delightful to experience such successes. Pesi Shroff had immense confidence in his ability and Solomon’s win does not surprise me. He had a good form line right through from Pune with just one below par performance. There was no questioning his speed or class and he proved it. I have learnt to trust Shroff’s judgment as he knows his horses best. I am particularly happy as I am leading in a Sprinters’ Cup winner after nearly 20 years. So this is special,” said Dr Mallya.

Sponsor and owner of Attila Mr Kishor Dingra had specially invited legendary super star Dharmendra who awarded the trophy to Dr Vijay Mallya. “I am happy to be back at the races and I think this is my third visit in a short time. I love the horses and I feel I am a horse too, running on and on. I bask in the cheer of all you people in the crowd and that’s what keeps me going” said Dharmendra amidst loud lusty cheer from the crowd.

The day began well for Dr MAM Ramaswamy as Eternal Flame (Arazan – Yutai, Poona Stud) justified the cramped odds and notched up her second successive victory in Mumbai, this one a lot more easily. Polished Chrome did most of the early running but fizzled out when Eternal Flame made her charge. Eternal Flame made it a no contest as she galloped fluently past Polished Chrome and sped away on tight reins to pile a five-length victory. In this form, Eternal Flame is well on course to earn a third before ending her campaign.

Sharp Witted (Razeen – Five Satins, Usha Stud) also performed on expected lines to give Dr MAM his second win for the day. Sharp Witted played a waiting game and remained unperturbed even as Shown and Palatial had a runaway lead until the final turn. Both faded too early and just when Administrate made a bid for the lead, Sharp Witted arrived like a bullet and put paid to all aspiration of his opponents with a splendid finish. He looked the winner even before the distance post and he duly galloped away to win comfortably. Ad Astra huffed and puffed to chase him down but simply could not match the winner’s brilliance and ended a tame second.

Shivalik Showers (Dancing Forever – Sun Shower, Hazara Stud) showed a clean pair of heels as he posted a gate to post victory in style. He was followed all the way into the straight by Shivalik View and once they turned for home, Shivalik Showers galloped on relentlessly all the way to the winning post. Native Force covered a lot of ground and did extremely well to forge past Snowing to grab the second spot.      

Staristocrat (Multidimensional – Only Royale, Usha Stud) scored a calculated victory working his way up the order at a steady pace. Fibonacci Sequence led the field and galloped at good clip setting a hot pace. The others were closely huddled with Staristocrat taking the shortest route into the straight.

La Traviata moved up to challenge Fibonacci Sequence and the two battled briefly before the latter surged ahead. Rule Downunder had to switch lanes and just when he started to quicken, Staristocrat arrived with a big gallop. He sailed past Rule Downunder with ease and carried on his bullish run to account for La Traviata as well. Staristocrat was most convincing in his manner of victory and an encore cannot be ruled out. La Traviata was beaten by a better horse on the day and she did well to end runner-up. Rule Downunder too surged ahead in the final finish to end close third. Simply Sweet disappointed as she had a clear run, tough she was galloping wide off.

After the above race, the jockeys voiced their apprehensions on safety as the track had taken a beating with constant drizzle. The stewards concerned all aspects and decided to call it a day and postpone the remaining two races – The Deltin Casino Stayers’ Cup (Gr1) and the Omkar 1973 Worli Million to the next day. That changed too as the persistent light showers only confirmed the fears that the Invitation Cup day would be postponed. It is now expected to be run on Saturday the 7th of March 2015.

For the professionals, only jockey Sandesh compiled a double.