PIN DROPS A CLASSIC HINT
Little horse blessed with huge heart
HE might be small but Pinatubo showed that he has the heart of a lion when making it six of the best by taking the Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. Sitting off the pace in a furiously run contest, Pinatubo (1-3 fav) left his rivals strung out like washing after William Buick gave him a couple of cracks with the whip. It might not have been a ‘knock-youreye-out’ display as he held off the two Aidan O’Brien-trained colts – Arizona (14-1) and Wichita (7-2). But the victory clearly delighted the colt’s owner Sheikh Mohammed. Collecting the trophy, he twirled on the podium – known as the yulla which he performs when pleased. Celebrating his fifth victory in the Group One contest, the Sheikh said: “When you win like that, with the horse showing a lot of courage, it must make you very pleased.
“We all love him. I will enjoy the winter and look forward to him next year.” Winning jockey Buick also waxed lyrical about the colt who is the highest-rated juvenile since Celtic Swing in 1994. He said: “It was a great performance from a great horse.
“It was different ground today so he needed to show different qualities – it turned into a stamina test and you saw today that he is a complete racehorse.
“I can’t see any reason why he can’t come back next year for the 2,000 Guineas.”
Already the market leader for the classic, Pinatubo remains unchanged at 11-10 with Paddy Power.
Winning trainer Charlie Appleby also could not hide his delight.
“For sure we dream, and it will help shorten the winter,” he said. “People asked if we were running a risk running him again as he’d already had five runs this year.
“But if you are a boxer going into the ring, you want plenty of experience behind you when it comes to a dogfight.
“He has been there on every occasion – he went to Epsom on Derby day, he went to Royal Ascot and then Goodwood and Ireland.
“He’s been up hill and down dale and brought a wealth of experience to the table as well as an engine.”
Punters have put their faith in that engine roaring in next year’s classic.