The Pat Smullen Column: Mind Over Matter

By

Pinatubo (Ire) put up another wonderful performance at Newmarket in the Dewhurst and there's no question in my mind that he won despite the ground. That's a real sign of a champion, the fact that he's able to overcome adversity. I don't think we saw the best of him on the day—the slow ground took away a little bit of his speed, but it's encouraging for next year that he was still able to pull it off.

Because he's not an overly big horse, all the talk now will be about whether he'll train on. Everyone has different opinions on this subject but in my experience over the years, a lot of the best horses I rode were not necessarily big 2-year-olds and when they went into their 3-year old careers, they had probably matured and strengthened to a degree, but they never grew dramatically from two to three. The biggest question is whether they are good enough and Pinatubo certainly is.

We had this with last year's champion 2-year-old Too Darn Hot (GB). He wasn't particularly big either but even after a setback in the spring he did little wrong all season and ended up finishing second in the Irish 2000 Guineas and winning two more Group 1 races in Britain and France.

I think there are two factors in horses maturing from two to three. The most important thing is the horse's mind. If they go into the winter relaxed with no great after-effects from their 2-year-old exertions, and they get through the winter with no injuries or hiccups, that's obviously a huge plus, and Charlie Appleby has been very vocal about how good a mind this horse has. Secondly, if horses aren't over-raced at two, I feel that's a big factor in their improvement over the winter. While Pinatubo has had six races, he has won effortlessly on most occasions so he's never really had to over-exert himself. I don't really think there was a lot of effort put into most of his wins because he was so brilliant from the word go and his races were almost more like racecourse gallops for him. Even at the Curragh when he won the National Stakes, he was geared down over the last furlong by William Buick. It holds no fear for me that he has had six runs as a 2-year old.

All the signs are that he will be fine. And does he have to improve? I think if he's the same horse come the first week in May then that's good enough. He has already shown that he is far superior to everything else this year. I think we can read too much into to the idea of horses training on or not training on. He is what he is, and that is an exceptionally good horse.

I think a lot can be made of physical size but I don't think that is necessarily a key factor. It's about horses firstly having the ability and then also having the constitution which will allow them to mature and develop and to be able to take racing and training quite easily. Sadler's Wells was a handy horse and he ended up being an exceptionally good racehorse and obviously the sire that he became. Northern Dancer before him was diminutive, and look at what he achieved on the racetrack and also at stud. Horses' key attributes are the constitutions of their mind and body. If they are sound and have a good temperament, that's what allows a horse to improve over the winter, not necessarily the physical act of growing.

Pinatubo is probably a little bit set and doesn't look like he will grow much more but that doesn't mean he's not going to strengthen. But to have that constitution that can take racing and not let it affect him mentally is what we all hope for in a horse. There are some horses that are just not mentally strong enough to take the exertions of training and racing and that's why a lot of those early 2-year-olds can be good enough at two but not be mentally strong enough to carry it through the winter and into a three-year-old season. I think there's too much emphasis on size and scope, when so much of it is down to their mind. And of course horses can have underlying niggling problems that can prevent them from improving and reaching their full potential, but the fact that Pinatubo is so laid back about everything and doesn't seem to have a care in the world points to him being a very sound horse in every way.

A Worthy Challenger
I must congratulate Denis Hogan, who has done a terrific job with Make A Challenge (Ire), winner of the Waterford Testimonial Stakes at the Curragh over the weekend. He was a really good buy by Denis and Colm Sharkey for £6,500 as an unraced 2-year-old from Godolphin and it's quite remarkable that the horse has won six races and has improved 42lbs this season. For anyone to get a horse to improve to that extent throughout the year has to be applauded.

Make A Challenge has now been supplemented for the G1 QIPCO British Champion Sprint at Ascot this Saturday and I wish him and his owners the very best of luck.

 

 

Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.

Copy Article Link

X

Never miss another story from the TDN

Click Here to sign up for a free subscription.