QIPCO 2000 Guineas favourite Pinatubo “physically…done great” over the winter

Charlie Appleby reports that Pinatubo has wintered well and is pleasing connections ahead of his three-year-old campaign and a crack at the QIPCO 2000 Guineas.

Pinatubo rounded off his juvenile season unbeaten in six starts, landing the odds in Group 1 company on the final two occasions, to become the highest rated two-year-old for a quarter of a century. His principal target for early-2020 is the first Classic at Newmarket and the opening race of the QIPCO British Champions Series.

He showed staying power and ability to handle the ground – the perfect PINATUBO gets another Group 1 victory!

He looked as though he will stay the extra furlong – was this impressive enough to make him the 2020 QIPCO 2000 Guineas winner?pic.twitter.com/D8P63vMHMl

— Champions Series (@ChampionsSeries) October 12, 2019

Appleby recently told Racing TV: “He’s done very well. We’ve had a mild winter and physically he’s done great. He’s strengthened into his shoulders and his neck.

“He looks fantastic and he’s a very exciting horse to be dealing with. His demeanour hasn’t changed and he’s still very relaxed….but we’re not going to fully know [if he’s trained on] until the Guineas”.