Charlie Appleby admits he is in the enviable position of having few worries heading into the QIPCO 2000 Guineas with Pinatubo.
It’s little wonder given the son of Shamardal enjoyed a brilliant and unbeaten six-race campaign which brought him Group One wins in the National Stakes and Dewhurst and a rating of 128, the highest for a juvenile in Britain since Celtic Swing in 1994.
“The draw would be one thing,” the trainer pondered when asked what his main concern was ahead of the first Classic of the season in a QIPCO British Champion Series press conference on Wednesday.
“As we know at Newmarket they are probably going to come from left to right with the stands’ rail being the higher numbers. You’d like to get a draw to help William to get in a position where he’s comfortable on him.
“Outside of that I don’t want to sound too confident but he’s pleasing us. He’s the highest rated two-year-old we’ve seen for the last 25 years, he looks great, has won on all ground conditions and more importantly won on that track so we’re in the fortunate position where he ticks a lot of boxes going into the race. Let’s hope we see the Pinatubo we saw as a two-year-old.”
Marco Botti has set his sights on Royal Ascot with Malotru after a planned trip to Germany had to be called off.
The Newmarket handler had been looking towards Monday's German 2000 Guineas at Cologne with his charge, who won an Italian Group Three last term and was on the mark in Listed company at Lingfield in February.
However, Deutscher Galopp announced on Tuesday that runners from Britain, Ireland and France would not be permitted as access to racing in those countries for German runners is not clear.
Andrew Balding reports Kameko to be “as ready as he could be” for the QIPCO 2000 Guineas as he puts the finishing touches to the Vertem Futurity winner’s Classic preparations.
Plans for a prep-race had to be scrapped with the sport in Britain being suspended in March. However, it’s scheduled to resume at Newcastle on Monday with the Guineas taking place at Newmarket on Saturday.
“I couldn’t be happier with him at the moment. He had a gallop at Kempton last week and Oisin (Murphy) rode him in that. I couldn’t have been happier with the way he went. He looks magnificent and is a lovely horse to have anything to do with it. We’re all really excited," the trainer said in a press conference to promote the QIPCO Guineas Festival.
“It’s the same for everyone not having a run beforehand. If you were the only person who couldn’t have raced in this period then obviously you’d be at a disadvantage but everyone is in the same boat.
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