Diamond Hunter showed tremendous improvement over his previous form, when he carried the top weight to an easy victory in the J B Mallaradhya Memorial Cup, the feature event in Saturday's racing at Bangalore. After many listless performances in the last one year, Diamond Hunter had shocked the followers of form by winning his previous start. He was penalized for that win, and was set to concede weight to all his rivals in today's race. The underfoot conditions were on the heavier side, with the timings being more than two seconds slower than the normal standards. These facts did not deter the connections of Diamond Hunter, who had full faith in his present condition, and backed him down to first favouritism. There was stray support for Lava, Perfect Rhythm, Dinesa and Mercurial. Diamond Hunter and Perfect Rhythm stood out on paddock looks ,and the race seemed to be confined to the two of them. Beckham set a strong pace ahead of Mercurial and Diamond Hunter, while the others were struggling to match strides with the frontrunners. The supporters of Perfect Rhythm were dismayed when they saw her getting squeezed out at the start , and gracing the rear end of the field as the runners took the final bend. Mercurial was the first to show out in the straight ,but was soon collared and passed by Diamond Hunter. Appu alerted him to the task, and this game horse responded beautifully. Diamond Hunter lengthened his strides and strode away from Mercurial. Perfect Rhythm came with a belated run and saved place money. The rest were slowing down at the end. Trainer Michael Eshwer has done well with this horse, and can target Diamond Hunter to pick up a terms race during the Mysore Season. Michael was in the limelight when Superyacht, his only other runner in the day's card , got up on the last stride to win The Manitou Cup. Chelsy Dancer and Zaffarani were supposed to fight out the finish of this race, and were seen many lengths clear of the rest as the bunch of eight horses entered the straight. The on-money favourite Chelsy Dancer, apparently after bursting a blood vessel, started to shorten her strides and handed over the lead to victory, when he was joined on the outside by Superyacht. The two horses fought out a stirring duel and were locked together as they flashed past the winning post. The camera confirmed that Superyacht had succeeded in nosing out Zaffarani. Jockey Christopher was hailed by his supporters for riding a powerful finish on the winner. He rode another neat race on Powerful dreams. The Faraz Arshad trained colt was too good in an ordinary set of Class IV sprinters, and won by a widening margin from Spread a Smile, Star Image and My Winning Charm. The last named put up a satisfactory performance and can be earmarked for an early success. Champion Trainer Ganapathy kept up his good work by saddling a brace of winners. It is very rare to see his horses being quoted at more than 100/1 by the bookmakers. It is almost impossible to see them winning on such an occasion. Vinod Shinde was declared to ride Supreme Splendour in a seven furlong race for maiden three year olds. Darius trained Acridian was considered unbeatable and was backed down to half-money. Conceptual was considered to be his closest rival, while the others were not even given a chance. The speedy Chinab made the early running and was chased by Acridian , Your Destiny and Supreme Splendour . The first one to come under pressure was Acridian,and was finding it difficult to collar the frontrunner. It was left to Supreme Splendour to lead inside the final furlong, and hold on to a slender advantage from a late finishing Conceptual. The last named was unlucky to lose this race as he was given a tender ride by his jockey. The winner paid more than a hundred to one at the totalizators. Ganapathy had the opportunity to keep his tally ticking, when Prakash steered Celestial Treasure to an easy win ahead of Royal Zen and Man United.Gara Fluid and Worth A Million made the early running before fading away from the scene. Ganapathy may have scored a treble for the afternoon ,if Desert Realm had been able to hold the late challenge from Orange Orchard. Flip Your Destiny set a fast pace ahead of Desert Realm and Aspiring Seven as heads turned for home. Ryan Marshall took Desert Realm to the front and opened up a fair lead near the distance post.It was Orange Orchard, who made a smooth move from the rear of the pack and got up on the last stride to beat the favourite. Trainer Dominic was another professional to score a "double" for the day. Appu ridden Reflection Of Gold was able to come through the middle and carry his top weight to an easy victory. Favourite Inspiring Trust was unable to catch this runaway winner. Noble Kingdom was unable to tackle the trip and ended a faraway third. The second winner came in the form of Superior Surprise. Shoban Babu took him to the front and lasted out to win in a three-way photo ahead of Chilly Wind and Algiers. Algiers was the most impressive runner of the day. He missed the kick and travelled the widest of all, before joining issue with the frontrunners as the field straightened for home. The top weight did not help his cause and he got tired at the end. Algiers should win before long.