Why Racing Needs Pinatubo to Land the Guineas

It may not be the event it was intended to be, but it may still prove to be something special.

The 2000 Guineas, Europe’s traditional premier Classic of the season, takes place this weekend at Newmarket.

It is more than a month after it was originally scheduled to be run, and of course, nothing more needs to be said about why that is the case – but it is such a relief that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have produced a revamped schedule to keep as much sense to the calendar as possible.

Ahead of the race on the Rowley Mile this weekend, and as we’ve become accustomed to in this fixture over the years, there is a very warm favourite at the head of the market.

There have been six horses priced at 6/4 or shorter to win the race for colts since 2010, and Charlie Appleby’s Pinatubo will make that seven out of the last 11 when he lines up.

Unbeaten in six previous starts, it’s safe to say he initially wasn’t expected to be such a star. He certainly wouldn’t have debuted on the all-weather at Wolverhampton last year as Godolphin’s second-string if that was the case.

But it quickly became obvious that the son of the late Shamardal is anything but normal.

After an impressive performance that day in the West Midlands, with a three-and-a-quarter length success, he landed the Woodcote at Epsom on Oaks day, and backed that up by romping to victory in the Chesham at Royal Ascot.

This was followed by the Group 2 Vintage Stakes at Goodwood, and subsequently a first Group 1 at the Curragh in the National Stakes, by an astonishing nine lengths.

He then secured the Dewhurst at Newmarket, another Group 1, proving he could do things the hard way by battling to a win on testing ground.

Pinatubo was given a rating of 128, making him the highest rated two-year-old for 25 years - two pounds higher than the mark Frankel received at the same age.

Now he must back it up in his second season.

Racing needs superstars to emerge in order to break into the mainstream, to get onto the front and back pages. We’ve seen that with Frankel, and more recently Enable.

I was at Ascot for the King George last year. I went specifically to watch Enable, and her race against Crystal Ocean was the most captivating moment of sport I’ve ever witnessed in the flesh. People flocked to watch what we all thought was her final run on British soil in the Yorkshire Oaks, and many others headed to Longchamp for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, in which she was denied in heart-breaking style.

Enable is one of the sport's stars - Pinatubo must too make that step into greatness.

The same can be said of Frankel – he attracted crowds from all over. These incredible horses garner massive interest in racing.

Pinatubo has the scope to become a household name like those two, and anyone with any significant interest in this wonderful sport must hope that he makes it win number seven in the Guineas.

We were in the same boat a year ago with Too Darn Hot – he was rated 126 and unbeaten following his juvenile campaign, and tasted victory in the Dewhurst just like Pinatubo.

Injury unfortunately ruled him out of the Guineas, before defeats in the Dante, the Irish Guineas and the St James’ Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot dampened his reputation somewhat.

Even more disappointingly, a further injury curtailed his career after he bounced right back to form by winning the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

Pinatubo now must try to do what Too Darn Hot couldn’t, and really put racing on the map - there’s very little reason to doubt that he will.

Pinatubo with jockey William Buick, trainer Charlie Appleby and owner Sheikh Mohammed after winning the Dewhurst.

You cannot question his temperament, for one – he’s raced at the biggest festivals with the biggest crowds, and that didn’t perturb him, nor did the travelling.

He’s already proven that he handles the dip at Newmarket, and in doing so that day he confirmed that he handles any ground.

Importantly, he’s won at a number of very different tracks with different styles, from downhill finishes at Epsom and Goodwood to a steeper finish at Ascot.

And Pinatubo has beaten most of the rivals he’s likely to face already. You would practically be ripping the form book to pieces if he didn’t pass the winning post in front.

There are obviously some smart horses lining up alongside him, but it would be so disappointing if it wasn’t Pinatubo sauntering into the winner’s enclosure after the race.

Should he win, those two-and-a-half months without racing will seem like a distant memory.