Michael Eshwer's Diamond Hunter stormed home to a sensational win in The Bangalore Turf Club Trophy, the principal event at the local races on Saturday. This terms event for horses three years old and over, had attracted a small group of six sprinters. On sheer ratings, Originality and Diamond Hunter looked far superior to the others. The two of them would have normally given lots of weight to the other four, but the spread in this race was a mere three and a half kilos. Originality had finished ahead of her older rival in their last few clashes, and there was no obvious reason to feel that she would not be able to reproduce that form. The only factor in favour of Diamond Hunter was the benefit of an earlier start on the opening day of the season, and it ultimately proved to be decisive as Originality definitely needed today's run. The two of them were supported to the exclusion of the rest , with Originality starting as an even money favourite to lift this well endowed trophy. Prakash eased Originality into an early lead and tried to settle her into an easy rhythm ahead of Diamond Hunter and Celestial Son. The favourite fought for her head and seemed to dislike the iron grip of her rider. On the other hand, Diamond Hunter and Appu were travelling comfortably in second spot and the horse was racing well within himself. He had settled nicely and the two market fancies were beginning to move ahead of the pack. The result of this race was decided at the bend itself. Diamond Hunter cruised into an unassailable lead and powered away from Originality. Despite Prakash's free use of the whalebone, the filly shortened her strides and surrendered tamely. She slowed down significantly at the end, and was lucky to retain the second spot ahead of a late-finishing Atlantus. Even though the terms of this race were totally against him, Atlantus showed that he has matured nicely and will be seen to advantage when his trainer decides to run him in handicap company. Dr Vijay Mallya's retained rider Chris Hayes had thrilled the railbirds at Mahalakshmi with some brilliant finishes on Thursday. He carried that form into Saturday by riding a popular treble for his connections at Bangalore. Two year-old Aprillia and three year-old Saddle Queen were making their maiden appearances on a race track. The two fillies had been subjected to some solid preparation, and their performances were a tribute to their hard-working trainer Dhariwal. The first race for maiden two year-olds was framed by the handicapper on Saturday. The on-money favourite Aprillia chased Missoni till well into the straight, before Chris pulled her out and showed her daylight. Aprillia responded gamely, lengthened her strides and increased the margin of her victory. She ran "green" in the straight, but with today's experience under her belt, the well built filly can be expected to improve on this performance. Missoni, Make My Day and Juno filled the rest of the frame. Saddle Queen was the easiest winner of the day. In a mile race for horses in the lowest class, she went to the front and stayed there. Chris looked back repeatedly and eased her much before going past the winning post. The poor quality of her opposition can be gauged from the fact that a tired Mind Me was able to run second. Mind Me had dropped his rider soon after being led onto the track, run riderless for more than five minutes and was literally dragged to the starting gates. This huge margin of victory may prompt the handicapper to give her a stiff penalty, but Saddle Quuen is surely a good type and much more shall be heard about her in the coming months. Chris Hayes had reserved his best fo Sugar Ray. It was the upper division of a sprint race for horses in Class II. The speedy horse normally races in front and begins to get tired in the straight. It was unusual to see Sugar Ray being held back in fifth position as Alcmene, Cart Wheel, Logans Run and Marcegalia raced in front and entered the straight. Sugar Ray was seen improving on the wide outside. David Allan and Cart Wheel led into the final furlong but were soon joined by Sugar Ray. It ceased to be a contest thereafter as Sugar Ray got the better of the leader and under the strong urgings of Chris Hayes, sped away to a facile victory. It was a treat to watch the tactical riding of this brilliant Irish jockey. Arjun Mangalorkar had some compensation in the last race of the day. After the defeat of Cart Wheel in the upper division, he was able to lead-in Valid Expectation, who stormed to a start to finish victory in the lower division of this sprint race. Ryan Marshall rode a power packed finish to keep him going ahead of So Much More, Distinctly Ahead and Astounding Blue. The horse that caught the eye in this race was Needofthehour. The odds against this horse rose alarmingly and it was apparent that he was out for an airing. Gaurav Sapra raced him a detached last for most of the way before pushing him in the straight. The horse began to gallop after the race was over and ended a respectable fifth. He will be too good to miss the day his connections decide to "back" him. Trainer Padmanabhan's Dante's Peak looked like a good bet in The Kumararajah MAM Muthiah Trophy, a seven-furlong race for horses five years old and over. Dante's Peak had finished fast from the rear in a sprint race a few weeks ago, and ended third in a group of younger horses. He was now racing amongst his own age group , and more importantly, was being campaigned over his favourite trip. Punters backed him with confidence and were happy with his performance. David Allan found himself in a spot of bother in the backstretch, as Dante's Peak got caught on the inner rails and had no option but to stay there. He knew that he would get his opportunity once the front-runners would begin to get tired with their efforts. Early leader Crackerjack rolled off the rails near the bend and offered a dream opening to the favourite. David Allan was quick to seize it and Dante's Peak was good enough to power through that gap. He galloped resolutely and made his opponents look very ordinary. Luckynumberslevin and Arabian Memories fought for the minor placings. Satish Narredu's Amar Prem proved to be much to speedy for She's A Lady, who was expected to romp home in a scurry event for horses in Class IV. The winning stable apparently had immense confidence in their ward, as they placed their bets despite rookie Koch being in the saddle. Amar Prem leapt out of the gates, opened a useful lead at the bend and kept going in the straight. On the other hand, Srinath tried his best but She's a Lady was unable to go close to the winner. The filly played the role of a bridesmaid for the third time in succession. SURAJ NARREDU RIDES 900th WINNER AT MAURITIUS: For those of you who noticed the absence of Champion Jockey Suraj Narredu on Friday and Saturday at Bangalore, it is informed that he was sent to Mauritius as the official Indian entry in "The International Jockeys Challenge" being held at The Mauritius Turf Club. The Championship is being held over Saturday and Sunday, and jockeys from many countries are participating in this event. There were eight races on the opening day. The French jockeys won seven of these events, while Suraj won the only other race in the day’s card. It is learnt that Suraj was beaten close home in two earlier events and had to be satisfied with the second spot. He won the second last race of the day on a horse called Bourne Supreme, and earned glory for his country. This incidentally, was winner number 900 in Suraj's short and brilliant career.