Cubanita can rise to the occasion in Pinnacle Stakes

Cubanita has form in the book which suggests she is the one they all have to beat in the Group 3 Pinnacle Stakes at Haydock today (2.05).

The Ralph Beckett trained mare failed to stay when upped in trip to 1m 6f in the Yorkshire Cup last time out, but had previously looked better than ever when winning the John Porter Stakes at Newbury on her seasonal reappearance.

This daughter of Selkirk showed a game attitude to beat Noble Mission off level weight in the Group 3 contest over 1m 4f, and the runner-up has gone on to frank the form in no uncertain fashion with two further wins in Group 3 company before landing the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup.

A repeat of that run would make Cubanita extremely difficult to beat, especially as she now has her optimum conditions of 1m 4f and soft ground.
Newmarket trainer John Gosden is double handed in the contest with Freedom Light and Sultania, and the latter looks the pick on jockey bookings.

The daughter of New Approach, who will be ridden by stable jockey William Buick, cerated a good impression when winning a Salisbury maiden on debut.
Sultania overcame greenness to score by a neck, and looks the type who is open to bags of improvement.

Whether the four-year-old will be streetwise enough to cope with a battle-hardened Cubinata after just one run is debatable, but Sultania is clearly held in the highest regard and cannot be underestimated given her powerful connections.

Silk Sari, trained by Luca Cumani, steps up in class following an impressive display in a Doncaster handicap and could prove to be a live outsider.

The four-year-old relished the testing conditions at Town Moor, cruising into contention two from home before quickening clear to put the race to bed and score with tons in hand.

Her handler is not the type to tilt at windmills, and the fact that he pitches Silk Saria into Group 3 company so quickly suggests that the daughter of Dalakhani is improving at a rate of knots and is worthy of the utmost respect.