Pinatubo third in G1 2,000 Guineas

Champion juvenile Pinatubo produced a battling effort to finish third, beaten just over a length in total, on his three-year-old return in the G1 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, UK, on Saturday, 6 June.

The Shamardal colt, who notched up G1 victories in both the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes and Darley Dewhurst Stakes during an outstanding unbeaten two-year-old season for Charlie Appleby, broke well and was soon covered up behind the leaders.

Pinatubo was asked to improve by William Buick with three furlongs left and quickened well to hold every chance a furlong and a half from home. He continued to stay on but could not go with Kameko and Wichita inside the final furlong, going down by a length and a quarter in total.

Charlie Appleby said: “It is obviously disappointing when you taste your first defeat with a horse like Pinatubo but, taking the positives out of the race, I think that he has shown that he has trained on. He was beaten by two good horses in a very quick time, so take nothing away from them.

“I think that we will see an improvement with Pinatubo mentally going forward, because he is a very relaxed horse at home. He improved with racing throughout his two-year-old season and it could be a similar situation this year.

“Hopefully, we can regroup and get him back on track for the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in a couple of weeks’ time.”

G3 winner Military March (Hector Crouch) also went into the mile Classic on the back of an unbeaten juvenile campaign for Saeed bin Suroor and the New Approach colt stayed on gamely to take fourth, two and a half lengths behind Pinatubo.

Saeed bin Suroor said: “Military March ran well and I think that stepping up to a mile and a half will be better for him. It was a nice first run of the season and we can think about the G1 Derby for him now.”