On a star-studded afternoon at The Curragh, one horse had bookies running for cover, both on the day and in ante post betting lists, and that horse was Pinatubo.

Pinatubo, strongly backed into 1/3 favourite having been available at 1/2 in places in the morning to land the Group 1 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes, produced one of the most stunning two-year-old performances ever seen.

Godolphin’s unbeaten colt destroyed his rivals by a remarkable nine lengths, earning ratings that surpass even what the mighty Frankel achieved as a juvenile.

The unbeaten son of Shamardal cruised into the lead under a motionless William Buick passing the three-furlong pole and when Buick pushed the button, the colt produced almost Formula 1 like acceleration to sprint clear of even the best the mighty Ballydoyle operation could offer.

“He’s the best two-year-old I’ve trained, there’s no doubt about that,” gushed Appleby, who indicated the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket would likely be next on the agenda for his superstar colt.

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Pinaturbo Saves It For The Track

“I’ve been very lucky to have some nice two-year-olds through my hands so far but something like him is amazing, because he just doesn’t do anything in the mornings.

"I worked him midweek with some of the nicer two-year-olds and [Champagne Stakes runner-up] Royal Crusade put him in his place.

"We only ever see the best of him when he turns up at the track, which is a nice position to be in.”

Pinaturbo’s romp had major ramifications on next year’s 2,000 Guineas market, where he is now odds-on (4/5), while even those layers that were more liberal in their reaction were forced into evasive action later in the afternoon.

One such was Paddy Power, whose spokesperson Paul Binfield said: “It’s not often you get top-class juvenile races landed by nine lengths and the winner is clearly very special.

“We went 6/4 immediately after the event but that’s contracted into 11/10 which is short enough for a contest eight months away, but what price will he actually be on the day of getting there in top order?”