Kameko gives jockey Oisin Murphy his first classic win in 2000 Guineas

Kameko gave jockey Oisin Murphy his first classic-race win in England as heavily favored Pinatubo suffered his first defeat finishing third in the Group 1 English 2000 Guineas on Saturday at Newmarket.

Kameko paid $24.40 to win in North American betting, a generous payoff on a horse who had impressively won the Group 1 Vertem Futurity to cap his 2-year-old season. Granted, that race had to be moved to an all-weather track at Newcastle because of a sodden course at Doncaster, but Kameko blitzed a solid field after having taken two tough losses, including a nose defeat over this same straight mile at Newmarket.

In that nose loss to Royal Dornoch in the Royal Lodge Stakes, Kameko raced too aggressively during the early and middle stages, but on Saturday, he had a different problem, dropping the bit briefly halfway through, getting a little lost, according to his jockey.

Murphy, 24, was champion rider in England during 2019 and got no thrill of a cheering crowd in this Guineas, run spectator-free because of Covid-19 concerns, but he definitely got the money. Murphy woke Kameko from his brief nap by steering sharply right after tracking from mid-pack along the inner rail. Kameko responded to his jockey’s request for more speed, twice knifing between horses to come up on the leading pair, Wichita and Pinatubo. Coming out of the famed dip in the course and into the uphill finish, Wichita tried to run with the winner but Kameko was doing the better work and crossed the line a neck in front.

It was a length farther back to Pinatubo, who went 7 for 7 as a highly advanced juvenile, capping his 2-year-old season with a two-length win in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes. But given his relatively modest physical attributes and his advanced professionalism as a young horse, it was always fair to wonder if Pinatubo could improve meaningfully at age 3. While he ran well enough Saturday, Pinatubo had every chance to close this deal in the final quarter-mile, perhaps briefly poking his nose in front of Wichita, but Pinatubo simply couldn’t stick with the top two through the final furlong.

He ran better than stablemate Arizona, a 9-1 shot who’d been second in the Dewhurst but never got involved in the Guineas and checked in 11th.

Andrew Balding trains Kameko for Qatar Racing Limited, and American-bred Kameko provided a major winner for his U.S.-based sire, Kitten’s Joy. Kameko, who sold for $90,000 at Keeneland’s September yearling sale in 2018, is out of the multiple stakes-winning mare, Sweeter Still.

Balding, the son of English Derby-winning trainer Ian Balding, said after the Guineas that Kameko would be pointed to the Derby on July 4 at Epsom.