On the eve of The Royal Arion Invitation Cup, leading pro Pradeep Chouhan uncorked a champagne performance recording a memorable treble. The top `Knight' guiding the fortunes of the Pesi Shroff schooled Hunting Goddess, hunted down the favourite Iron Age to emerge the top sprinter in the Indian racing circuit and later packed punch on the on-money favourite Forseti from Prasanna Kumar's yard to register the treble after he opened his account astride the Prithviraj-trained Fast Pace, who showed a clean pair of heels to her six rivals in the Coromandel Gromor Juvenile Million run over a sprint.

Smarting under the defeat at the hands of Iron Age in the Dr.S C Jain Sprinters' Championship in Mumbai last month, the speedy Hunting Goddess settled a score on a bigger stage. The best sprinter on view, despite her impressive performances on the trial track was offered at (5/1) in the betting ring, most bookmakers fancying the public choice Iron Age and the Kolkata challenger Agnostic ahead of the classy mare in the Zavaray S Poonawalla Sprinters' Cup.  Chouhan understanding that he needed to tail Iron Age closely and not allow her to skip away followed the Mumbai mainhope all through the six furlongs journey before he setalight Hunting Goddess approaching the distance post. The winner after a brief duel in the final furlong streaked ahead and powered through to wear the top sprinter sash. Iron Age hung on to gain the runner-up berth ahead of Chennai hopeful Leopard Rock, while the local star Cool Rider after a four in-a-row effort including his victory in Mysuru found this elite sprinting company too hot to handle, only managing to complete the frame.

Next, astride the piping hot favourite Forseti from Prasanna Kumar's yard, Chouhan needed to produce his best to edge out the Sulaiman Attaollahi schooled Yukan in a humdinger.  The veteran in a never-say-die bid packed punch on the public choice and gained the day at the shadow of the winning post, a `head' separating him from the lesser fancied Yukan, while Star Glory finished a creditable third in the Tetrasoft Million run over a distance of seven furlongs.

Earlier, partnering Fast Pace in the Coromandel Grovor Juvenile Million, Chouhan hit the front on Fast Pace and never let the initiative slip comfortably pegging back the challenge of the Hyderabad raider She Can, who garnered the maximum support in the sprint trip on the strength of her two straight victories at Malakpet. The fact that She Can gave a good seven kilos to the winner, which helped tilt the balance in favour of Fast Pace clearly indicated that the Sequeira trainee is a goodtype of youngster, who will definitely chalk out another win in the summer races at this centre.

The strongly supported Cyrenius from Padmanabhan's yard won the opening event, the Royal Calcutta Turf Club Million in a common canter. The winner piloted by leading pro Sandesh looked a picture of fitness at the parade ring and readily justified his top billing to the delight of the Padmanabhan camp. Aquamatic from Irfan Ghatala's yard followed the winner home, while Foi from Aravind Ganapathy's stable finished a suggestive third and is one for the notebook.

The in-form Santorino completed a hat-trick of wins, coming up trumps in the Madras Race Club Million run over a distance of 2000 metres. The Irfan Ghatala ward confidently piloted by the experienced John, who partnered him in his last winning essay, travelled nice and easy all through the backstretch before John pushed him to gain a favourable position while negotiating the final curve and the moment he was up with the leaders, John pressed the button and Santorino shot through to register his third straight success. The Mumbai challenger Rue St.Honore bounced back to gain the runner-up spot after her dismal showing in her last start at home. Inyoubelieve managed to save money in place, finishing third ahead of Golden Time, while Stormy Ocean performed below par.

After the Padmanabhan camp started the day on a winning note, Philosophy's lackadaisical effort in the RWITC Million floored the followers of form. The strongly tipped contestant failed to jump level in the mile long event and though Sandesh gradually improved and brought her in contention at the top of the straight, Philosophy lacked the ability and willingness to make a race of it and only managed to finish a poor fourth much to the disappointment of her supporters, who had touted her as a good bet taking into account that she in the past had matched strides with classic winners. The Delhi Derby winner Ashwa Yudhvir fresh from his success in the capital city produced another fine effort in the hands of Suraj Narredu to help younger brother Rajesh break the ice, leading in his maiden winner this winter. The Neil Devaney-trained Last Wish finished a game second and Supreme Dance from the stables of Sebastian in his effort to make every post a winning one gamely hung on to bag the third spot.

The Stayers' Cup produced a nail biting finish, the favourite Arc De Triomphe from Adhirajsingh Jodha's yard, B Suresh schooled My Opinion, both from Chennai and the pride and joy of Kolkata, Success from Vijay Singh's yard flashing past the post together before the `magic eye' nodded in favour of the gutsy My Opinion, who edged out arch rival Arc De Triomphe by a `head' and the Jodha ward in turn finished a `head' in front of Success. Trevor astride Arc, Srinath guiding the fortunes of My Opinion and Suraj astride Success produced their best in this classic finish and the railbirds loved the saddle artistry on parade while raising a big cheer to the three top guns.

The concluding event, the Mysore Race Club Million produced a shock result, the 20 to one shot Chinky Pinky from Darius Byramji's yard edging out the 100 to one rankoutsider The Athabasca by the shortest of margins. A facile last start winner Ooh La La from Mohd. Khan's yard added pep to the finish in his attempt to provide an encore. Ooh La La only finished a `neck' behind the first two and this result stunned the punters after My Opinion's big effort in the energy-sapping Stayers' Cup run over the gruelling distance of 3000 metres.