Godolphin’s Pinatubo ready for G1 rematch at Ascot

Charlie Appleby reports that Pinatubo has pleased him at home since the colt’s first defeat in seven starts, in Newmarket’s G1 2000 Guineas on June 6.

He finished third to Kineko and Wichita, beaten a neck and one length, in the first Classic of the season. He is now poised for a quick follow-up run in Saturday’s G1 St James’s Palace Stakes on the final day of the meeting.

With only two weeks between the Guineas and Ascot, it will take a special type to lift the coveted three-year-old contest this year.

“I am looking forward to the re-match with Wichita, who we respect,” Appleby said.

“I was disappointed Pinatubo lost his unbeaten status last time, but he finished a gallant third in a very strongly contested 2000 Guineas and that is to his credit.

“He showed his characteristic determination and proved beyond doubt that he has trained on from two to three. He adopted much the same running style as he did last year.

“We found he stepped up race by race as a two-year-old. He was progressing with more racing, and seeing that he has come out of the Guineas well, I expect him to have sharpened up even more this time.

“His key attributes are that he is relaxed and he has a good constitution. This mind-set and body-set will allow him to back up only 14 days after a Classic. In a normal year, there would be six weeks between the two races.

“He was ridden by Aaron Jones (his usual partner) in an easy gallop on June 13 and he pleased us very much,” he added.

Right On Cue bids for G3 success: StakesImproving five-year-old Right On Cue and veteran speedster Teehaff both bid for a second G3 success in the Hakodate Sprint Stakes at Hakodate in Japan on Sunday.

Right On Cue (Mitsugu Kon/Yoshihiro Furukawa) makes his first appearance since powering to a decisive victory in the six-furlong G3 Keihan Hai at Kyoto in November. The Shamardal entire, who also scored over six furlongs in the Funabashi Stakes last year, missed his intended seasonal return in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint following the cancellation of Dubai World Cup Night.

Teehaff (Katsuichi Nishiura/Yusaku Kokubun) lines up in the Hakodate Sprint Stakes for a third time, having captured the race in 2015 with an impressive display and finished down the field in 2016 and 2018.

Now 10, the son of Storming Home was third on his G3 debut in the Hakodate Nisai Stakes in July, 2012, and has gone on to perform admirably in Japan’s top sprints, most notably finishing fourth in the 2017 G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen. He went down by less than three lengths in the same six-furlong feature at Chukyo on his latest start at the end of March, when he kept on to take eighth.

Harry Sweeney, President of Godolphin in Japan, said: “Right On Cue was in tip-top form in late March and was primed to run in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai but unfortunately had to return to Japan without a run when the meeting was cancelled due to Covid-19. As a consequence, he has been off the track since he won the G3 Keihan Hai over six furlongs in late November last year.

“When he returned to Japan from Dubai, he was based for a lot of the time at the Godolphin pre-training facility, which is overseen by William Balding. William reports that the colt has matured and strengthened during his extended racetrack absence.

Right On Cue’s trainer, Mitsugu Kon, is very happy with the colt and reported that he worked really well during the week. He may need the race to reach peak condition but is certainly good enough to give a very good account of himself. He is a progressive colt and we expect him to feature.

“The six furlong distance of Sunday’s race and likely firm turf will suit, while he has been drawn seven of the 16 runners which is acceptable.

“It is unlikely that there were any 10-year-olds running in Royal Ascot this week but Japan’s racing programme encourages the top equine athletes in various classes to run against each other irrespective of gender or age. Indeed, just two weeks ago, Perform a Promise, an eight-year-old colt, won the G3 Naruo Kinen defeating a field of 16 runners comprised mostly of four, five and six year-olds. However, the horse that finished fourth on that occasion, Saimon Ramesses, is a 10-year-old who was making his 68th JRA appearance.