Calcutta: The Invitational Weekend action begins at the RCTC on Saturday at 12.35 pm, but the excitement may only build up minutes before the starter signals the release of the lever for the 3.30 pm event – the 1,200m Nanoli Stud Sprinters’ Cup. All the eight horses in the line-up for afternoon’s show-piece event are champions in their own right but the race is meant to determine the champion of the champions.

Oyster Cove, Caprese and Romantic Fire are taking a second try after Spectacular Quest dashed their dreams in the Bangalore edition of the race last year. Get Fresh, Atmosphere and Evatina, having matured late, are taking their chance against youngsters such as Dynasty and Haunting Memories. The race has all the ingredients and a tough competition is on the cards. Yet, one is inclined to give Haunting Memories a solid edge over the rest.

The Memories, a Placerville-Haunting Beauty daughter, was rated as the best three-year-old youngster in the country until the emergence of her stablemate, Southern Empire. Further, her limitations over the Classic trips must have been the real reason behind owner MAM Ramaswamy pushing the filly into sprints. She possesses a lot of class and she is bound to exploit it over all trips up to a mile. Colm ’Donoghue partners the filly, saddled by Robert Foley. He is deputising for S. Ganapathy, who is recovering from a heart surgery.

Aperitivo is another one who boasts of his superior class. The Diffident-Dramatic Irony son takes on six rivals in the 3,000m Olympia Technology Park Stayers’ Cup. The Vijay Singh-trained six-year-old is rated 140 and it reflects his superior credentials against those rated more than 20 points lower.

Badge Of Gold will be the hottest property on the day. The Razeen-Veena’s Pet son, though up against two well-performed Vijay’s youngsters, looks home and dry in the 1,400m race. In Bangalore, the Ganapathy-trainee had thrashed good set of rivals in each of his last two outings.Read as: Sl. nos, last 4 runs, horse name, trainer, jockey, weight & draw:

1. Calcutta Bookmakers’ Association Trophy 1,600m (Rt 20-70) 12.35 pm

1       3423        El Cid [Vikash] Vinay       60.0       2

2       - - 31       Glenbervie [Robin] Suraj       55.5       1

3       0241       Dancing Storm [Daniel] Chisty       51.5       3

1. glenbervie (2) 2. dancing storm (3)

Glenbervie: Won impressive. May strike again. Dancing Storm: May place.

2. Japan Trophy 1,400m (Terms, 3-y- only) 1.05 pm

1       - 211       Badge Of Gold [Ganapathy] Colm .       55.0       1

2       1212       Regal Connection [Vijay] Mallesh       55.0       2

3       - 311       Athymia [Vijay] Rajendra       53.5       3

1. badge of gold (1) 2. regal connection (2)

Badge Of Gold: Has thrashed some of the good youngsters in Bangalore. Regal Connection: May place.

3. Jaswanti Sud Memorial Cup 1,200m (Rt 20-70) 1.40 pm

1       3440       Kandinsky [Javed] Jugnu       61.5       3

2       1421       King’s Charter [Daniel] Colm .       59.0       7

3       3102       Acrostic [Bath] Afzal       56.5       1

4       2300       Zephyr [Stephens] A.Imran        55.5       2

5       3100       Candle Light [Robin] Suraj       54.0       6

6       - 203       Elusive Glow [Vikash] D.Singh       53.5       4

7       0000       Sea Legend [Karki] Islam       52.5       5

1. king’s charter (2) 2. acrostic (3) 3. elusive glow (6)

King’s Charter: An easy winner, set to score an encore. Acrostic: May go close to the winner. Elusive Glow: May place.

4. Desert Warrior Cup 1,400m (Rt 00-50) 2.20 pm

1       2330       Allegary [Karki] D.Singh       62.0       9

2       4000       Awesum Attitude [Karki] Appu       61.5       7

3       1233       Salinger [Jaiswal] Qazafi       59.5       4

4       0044       Spectacular Star [Farley] Surjeet       58.5       1

5       0004       Big Thrillz [Javed] Reuben       56.5        6

6       0201       Schumacher [Vikash] Arun       55.0       8

7       - - 12       Bold Queen [Errol] Chisty       54.0       2

8       1430       Asmodeus [Vikash] Vinay       53.0       5

9       4211       Going Starry [Bath] Afzal       52.5       3

1. Big Thrillz (5) 2. bold queen (7) 3. spectacular star (4)

Big Thrillz: Returns to the sprint he relishes most. May surprise. Bold Queen: Looking improved since her last run. Spectacular Star: May upset.

5. Aztec Cup 1,400m (Rt 00-30) 2.55 pm

1       - - - 2       Le Chaim [Javed] A.Imran       60.5       8

2       0000       Vanila Glory [Vikash] Arun       59.0       1

3       0000       King Tudor [Daniel] Chisty       58.5       2

4       1422       Heer [Bath] Afzal       58.0       5

5       0402       Avisholom [Jaiswal] Vinay       55.5       3

6       0004       Over The Rainbow [R.Alford] Sequeira       52.5       6

7       3000       Q’ba [Stephens] Reuben       52.5       4

8       2003       Ganga Bose [Farley] Surjeet       52.0       7

1. king tudor (3) 2. le chaim (1) 3. Avisholom (5)

King Tudor: Something is brewing with him. Watch out his ‘ring’ odds. Le Chaim: A Mumbai-migrant who is looking very fit. Avisholom: May place.

6. Nanoli Stud Sprinters’ Cup 1,200m (Terms, 4-y- & over) 3.30 pm

1       - 213       Get Fresh [R. Alford] Kamlesh       59.0       6

2       - 021       Oyster Cove [Sunderji] Rajendra       59.0       4

3       - - 11       Romantic Fire [Vijay] Suraj       59.0       8

4       1112       Atmosphere [Jadhav] Mallesh       57.5       3

5       - 202       Caprese [Dhariwal] Ruzaan       57.5       5

6       - - 33       Evatina [Ganapathy] Srinath       57.5       1

7       1011       Dynasty [Shroff] McCullagh       55.0       2

8       1201       Haunting Memories [G’pathy] Colm .       55.0       7

1. Haunting Memories (8) 2. caprese (5) 3. Evatina (6)

Haunting Memories: Returns to sprints after her failure in Classics. Will assert her superior Class. Caprese: Troubled Haunting Memories in her last start over a sprint. Evatina: May upset.

7. Olympia Technology Park Stayers’ Cup 3,000m (Terms, 4-y- & over) 4.05 pm

1       - 300       Amazing One [Sathish] Suraj       59.0       7

2       1111       Aperitivo [Vijay] Rajendra       59.0       2

3       1020       Crown Court [Shroff] McCullagh       59.0       4

4       - - 03       Star Of Windsor [Ganapathy] Srinath       59.0       6

5       3122       Star Phoenix [Daniel] Chisty       59.0       3

6       - - 14       Scintilating Skill [Ganapathy] Colm .       57.5       1

7       1432       Gentlemans Deal [Laxman] Imran       54.0       5

1. Aperitivo (2) 2. Scintilating Skill (6) 3. Gentlemans deal (7)

Aperitivo: A super class horse pitted against moderate performers. Scintilating Skill: Up against a good performer. But capable of beating the rest.

8. Lakshmi Trophy 1,200m (Rt 40-90) 4.45 pm

1       0102       Bright Blossom [Vijay] Rajendra       60.0       8

2       0120       Water Wood [Vikash] Vinay       60.0       5

3       0432       Way To The Stars [Stephens] Afzal       59.0       7

4       4040       Alarico [Javed] A.Imran       55.0       3

5       3130       Aptitude [Vikash] Salim       54.5       9

6       0102       Ciraja [R.Alford] Kamlesh       52.5       1

7       0404       Grand Pere [Stephens] Aharwal       51.5       6

8       0023       Body And Soul [Robin] Islam       48.0       4

9       1014       Ecstatic Pride [Errol] Chisty       47.0       2

1. Ecstatic pride (9) 2. alarico (4) 3. body and soul (8)

Ecstatic Pride: Ignore her last run. Capable of beating all. Alarico: Knocking at the door. Keep an eye. Body And Soul: May place.

Day’s Best: Aperitivo Double: Badge Of Gold & Haunting Memories