By Tom Frary
Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) will face 14 rivals as he carries the silks of the late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid in Saturday's G1 Betfred 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Unbeaten at two, the George Boughey-trained G2 Royal Lodge Stakes winner is the current favourite under Billy Loughnane who is looking for a first Classic victory, with that position at the head of the market not guaranteed now that Ballydoyle and Godolphin's plans are confirmed.
Bow Echo was drawn on the wing in 15 nearest the stand's rail, the position of last year's winner Ruling Court and of the 2020 winner Kameko.
As confirmed on Wednesday, Aidan O'Brien will rely on Gstaad (Starspangledbanner), while William Buick has opted for Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder) of the Charlie Appleby-trained pair which includes the unbeaten King's Trail (Sea The Stars).
Gstaad is drawn in the middle in seven, Distant Storm is towards the far side in two and King's Trail is in 13.
Godolphin have a third runner in the Roger Varian-trained Avicenna (Starspangledbanner), who chased home the re-opposing Oxagon (Frankel) in the G3 Craven Stakes. Avicenna is drawn in eight, with the latter who represents the Gosdens in 10.
Karl Burke puts forward the G3 Greenham Stakes winner Alparslan (Dandy Man), who will exit from stall four, while William Haggas runs the eye-catching fourth in that seven-furlong trial, Needle Match (Night Of Thunder) who is drawn on the far side in one.
Cayton Park Stud and Susan Magnier's G3 Ballylinch Stud Red Rocks Stakes winner Thesecretadversary (St Mark's Basilica) is a rare runner in the Classic for Fozzy Stack and he renews rivalry with Amo Racing's Phoenix Stakes hero Power Blue (Space Blues), who was second in that Leopardstown prep. They are drawn five and nine respectively.
The remainder going to post are outsiders Into The Sky (Starman), Padraig Dawn (Saxon Warrior), Venetian Prince (St Mark's Basilica), Billecart (Night Of Thunder) and Lord Britain (Universal).
The withdrawals were Ballydoyle's Puerto Rico, Causeway and Flushing Meadows, the Karl Burke-trained Hankelow and Francis Graffard-trained Samangan.
2,000 Guineas runners, draw and riders:
Alparslan (4) Clifford Lee
Avicenna (8) Ray Dawson
Billecart (6) Rowan Scott
Bow Echo (15) Billy Loughnane
Distant Storm (2) William Buick
Gstaad (7) Ryan Moore
Into The Sky (3) Kieran Shoemark
King's Trail (13) James Doyle
Lord Britain (14) Benoit de la Sayette
Needle Match (1) Tom Marquand
Oxagon (10) Oisin Murphy
Padraig Dawn (12) Eddy Greatrex
Power Blue (9) David Egan
Thesecretadversary (5) Seamie Heffernan
Venetian Prince (11) PJ McDonald
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