GODOLPHIN TRIO TAKE AIM AT 2,000 GUINEAS
A trio of incredibly exciting colts raced by Dubai’s all-powerful Godolphin stable will today bid to win the 2,000 Guineas (Group 1), the first of Britain’s five Classics, which will be held behind closed doors at a vigilant Newmarket Racecourse in England.
Pinatubo and Al Suhail race out of Charlie Appleby’s thriving Moulton Paddocks while Military March represents two-time Guineas-winning handler Saeed Bin Surour.
The Godolphin runners, of which the unbeaten Pinatubo is the ante-post favourite, face 12 rivals led by last year’s Royal Ascot winner from Ireland, Arizona.
Bin Surour last won the colt’s Classic back in 1999 with Island Sand’s having previously captured the prestigious trophy with Mark of Esteem in 1996.
Godolphin also won the event in 2013 with the Jim Bolger-trained Dawn Approach, who was following up on impressive wins in the Coventry, Vincent O’Brien and Dewhurst Stakes as a twoyear-old. Pinatubo also won two of these races during an outstanding 2019 season where he was unbeaten in six starts and became the highest-rated juvenile in 25 years with a magic number of 128 which similarly awarded to three of Europe’s top horses, Enable, Crystal Ocean and Waldgeist by the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. The highest marks given to a juvenile were in 1991 and 1994 when Arazi and Celtic Swing respectively delivered some breathtaking performances. Looking ahead to today’s 2,000 Guineas, Appleby said: “Pinatubo is not a horse that will light you up too much in the mornings but is the ultimate professional, like any sportsman at the top end. He’s got a great mind on him and he knows that when the gates open it’s game on.”