Boughey upbeat on Bow Echo with huge rematch all set
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Mon 15 Jun 2026
George Boughey believes Bow Echo has all the attributes to handle any eventuality in his rematch with Gstaad in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot on Tuesday.
Unbeaten in three races at two, he routed the opposition in the 2000 Guineas looking every inch the standout miler of his generation.
Aidan O’Brien’s Gstaad was the only colt who could make a race of it at Newmarket, but even so he was eventually put to the sword by almost three lengths and his subsequent win in the Irish Guineas only served to put Bow Echo’s performance into perspective.
As the field races around a bend in the St James’s Palace, Bow Echo faces a slightly different test at Ascot. But Boughey is unconcerned.
“I said in the autumn time last year he’s the best colt we’ve ever had and he’s unbeaten, which means you don’t want them to get beat,” said Boughey.
Billy Loughnane (left) with Bow Echo and George Boughey (Jason Bax)
“When he was sent to me, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid (late owner) said he is the horse that was going to change my career. I think that was probably a bit bold from him considering he was an unraced yearling, but he has that pedigree and to have a 126-rated son of Night Of Thunder who is unbeaten is a huge honour.”
Reflecting on his Guineas success, the Newmarket trainer said: “We were hopeful that he would be very competitive. I think to put on the show that he did was a little bit of a surprise to us, but he took the race well and within a couple of days he needed to be back out in full work.
“Obviously he’s proven himself to be the horse we hoped he would be. There’s always a bit of an unknown through the spring to see if he’s a horse that’s going to flourish, luckily he has and I think he’s taken a notable step forward.
“We’ve always been very comfortable with his work and how he’s trained, but we have seen an improved physical in the mornings and his work has undoubtedly got stronger.
“I’ve always thought because he’s a horse that I want to ride with a bit of restraint, on a straight track if you jump and land prominent you’re a victim of circumstance. You don’t want to be too far back at Ascot on the round mile as they can get away from you on the front front, but he jumped and travelled at Haydock around a bend and possibly hit the front too soon.
“He’s got quite a few of the attributes you need for that track. I think he’s a horse that will travel and I think he’s got all the attributes to do anything really.”
It is unusual for O’Brien to be playing the role of underdog but that is the situation he finds himself in with Gstaad, despite his Irish Guineas success.
A winner of the Coventry Stakes 12 months ago, the Ballydoyle handler reports him to have improved again.
Speaking in an attheraces.com stable tour O’Brien said: “We’re delighted with him and everything has gone smoothly since the Curragh. We feel he has improved again.
“He’s a very balanced horse and we feel a round mile will suit him well. He’s very straightforward and his form tells you how talented and tough he is. We’re looking forward to taking on Bow Echo again.
“Our horses were only going OK at the time of the 2000 Guineas, and they’ve all stepped up a gear since then. It looks a very exciting race on paper and we’re looking forward to seeing it play out.”
O’Brien also runs Puerto Rico, a dual Group One scorer as a juvenile and a close fourth in the French Guineas on his only outing this term.
Puerto Rico won two Group Ones last season (Mike Egerton/PA)
The Ballydoyle handler said: “We had been training him for the 2000 Guineas and felt we had him peaking for it, but we decided to switch him to France the following week and the edge might just have gone off him by the time he got there.
“He ran very well on the day, but we feel he’s better than that run and we’ve been training him for this race since then, so he is fully lined up this time.”
The outlier is Charlie Appleby’s Talk Of New York who did not run in either Guineas but impressed onlookers with the way he won Sandown’s Heron Stakes.
Appleby told godolphin.com: “I was impressed with Talk Of New York at Sandown and he has trained very well since.
“This has the makings of a great race with the two Guineas winners, while we go in with untapped potential at this level.
“We will see if Talk Of New York can rise to the occasion, but we have a lot of confidence in the horse and are looking forward to it.”
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