Pinatubo’s new rating is higher than Frankel’s at the end of his campaign as a two-year-old, and he is expected to attempt to elevate it still further in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket
Pinatubo’s remarkable nine-length success in the National Stakes at The Curragh nine days ago has all but guaranteed that he will be the highest-rated two-year-old since Celtic Swing in 1994 following the news that his official mark has been raised to 128 as a result. Pinatubo’s new rating is 2lb higher than Frankel’s mark at the end of his juvenile season, and he is expected to attempt to elevate it still further in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket next month.
Celtic Swing was rated 130 at the end of his two-year-old campaign, which concluded with a 12-length rout of his field in what is now the Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster. It remains the highest mark awarded to a turf juvenile since the two-year-old classification was first published in 1978, although Arazi’s brilliant win on dirt in the 1991 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile earned him the same rating.