PINATUBO and Wichita are at it again today.

It’s one-all. When they met in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket last October, Pinatubo won the race, leaving Wichita back in third, almost five lengths behind. When they met in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket two weeks ago, Wichita finished second and Pinatubo finished third, a length behind.

Pintubo’s victory was more emphatic, but Wichita’s was decisive and more recent.

A lot depends on your view of Pintubo’s Guineas performance, whether you view it as a blip or a plateau. Last year’s superstar juvenile colt, Charlie Appleby’s horse could bounce back today. If he can reproduce the performance that he put up in winning the National Stakes at the Curragh as a juvenile last September, that could be good enough.

Improved Wichita

But Wichita looks like a significantly improved horse now. Aidan O’Brien’s colt was a very good juvenile, he won the Group 3 Somerville Tattersall Stakes and he ran well in the Dewhurst but his run in the Guineas was a significant step forward on his juvenile form. It always looked like he had Pinatubo’s measure, and he looked a likely winner before Kameko swooped.

He has never run at Ascot, but he is by No Nay Never, a son of Scat Daddy, who won the Norfolk Stakes on his only run at Ascot, so there is every chance that he will handle the track okay. There is every chance that he will confirm Guineas form with Pinatubo.

Palace interesting

Of the others, Palace Pier is obviously the most interesting. John Gosden’s colt won his two races last year, both at Sandown, and he was impressive in winning a handicap at Newcastle on his debut this term.

There is no doubting his potential, but he is fashionable and he is defensively priced, and the Newcastle runner-up Acquitted didn’t enhance the form of that race in the 10-furlong handicap on Wednesday.

Wichita sets the standard on this year’s form, he has the potential to progress from his Guineas run, and you can easily argue that he should be clear favourite.

There may be only a maximum of 24 runners set to line up in the Wokingham Handicap this year but, as a puzzle, it doesn’t look any easier to solve than it does most years. And it’s a tight handicap. Just 10lb between the 24 of them.

You can see why Bielsa is popular. Kevin Ryan’s horse has run just five times, and he has won four times. His only defeat was in the Portland Handicap at Doncaster last September, for which he was sent off as favourite, but he bounced out of that inexplicably poor performance and, back at Doncaster, won a six-furlong handicap impressively. That was on soft ground too, so more rain at Ascot wouldn’t be a worry.

Acquired by King Power Racing in the interim, he is a player today, but he is 8lb higher than he was at Doncaster, and he is short.

Mubakker was impressive in winning a six-furlong handicap at Newcastle on the second day of the resumption of racing, and Jim Crowley is having some week.

However, Sir Michael Stoute’s horse is up 9lb for that win, and he is short too. Also, while good all-weather form is often a positive on Ascot’s straight track, Mubakker is three for three on all-weather, and he is zero for two on turf, with one of those runs at Ascot last October, when he under-performed over the Wokingham course and distance on soft ground.

Angel Alexander could out-run his odds, Tom Dascombe’s horse may not have got due credit for winning the Ayr Gold Cup. It was a fine performance by a three-year-old, and he had to do a lot of his running on the near side on his own, probably on ground that was faster than ideal for him. He raced in Meydan until early March, so he should be fit enough.

Summerghand (black/white) is a solid proposition in the Wokingham \ Healy Racing

That said, Summerghand may be a more solid betting proposition. David O’Meara’s horse is six years old now and he has had plenty of racing, but his run at Newmarket two weeks ago suggests that he is as good as ever this season.

He did well to finish second that day. He raced in rear in a race in which and on a day on which the prominent racers did best on Newmarket’s speed favouring track. Also the three horses who filled the first four places with Summerghand, Tinto, Pass The Vino and Total Commitment, raced prominently on the far side from low draws. Summerghand was held up early on, and raced towards the near side from a high draw.

The Lope De Vega gelding does run well at Newmarket, but he also runs well at Ascot, which, in theory anyway, should suit his hold-up style of racing better. He finished fifth in the Wokingham last year on fast ground, just three lengths behind Cape Byron, off a mark of 100. He is just 1lb higher this year, and the easier ground should suit him better.

It is not a major concern that Danny Tudhope rides Summerghand’s stable companion Arecibo instead. Arecibo has a chance and he is part-owned by Clipper Logistics, for whom Tudhope invariably rides.

As well as that, James Doyle is a top jockey who rides Ascot well and who is riding out of his skin this week.

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