Last Saturday’s St James’s Palace Stakes was a great race and I don’t think there were any excuses for anybody. To me, Pinatubo ran a very similar race to the one he ran in the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas and Frankie just swooped down the outside on Palace Pier and outstayed both Pinatubo and Wichita. The more I look at Pinatubo, the more of a Too Darn Hot he is.
Or saying that, he could even be like Stravinsky in that he could be better off stepping back in trip and running in the July Cup. He looks an incredibly fast horse and the way he travelled through the race was really impressive. He’d have won last Saturday’s race if it was over 6F or 7F but he just didn’t minute the mile.
There have been a few horses in the past who have got faster as they have got older. They are in the minority but it does happen and to me, Pinatubo looks like a horse who is getting faster as he is getting older. Yes, you could argue that if things worked out differently then he might have won but you’re splitting hairs.
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At the top level, you can’t need the rub of the green to win every day. To be a champion, you have to be able to win when you don’t get the rub of the green.
Now, maybe they’ll go to the Sussex Stakes with him next and maybe Goodwood is an easier track than Ascot.
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It’s more downhill and maybe they’ll roll the dice and go there anyway. If he does, he’ll take on Siskin who was brilliant in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.
I talked before about us getting all these clashes when the season gets up and running and now we’re going to get one in the Sussex Stakes with Siskin, Wichita, Palace Pier and possibly Pinatubo. But for me, I think they should bring Pinatubo back in trip.
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