By Tom Frary
It may have been super-smooth at Newmarket, but Tuesday's G1 St James's Palace Stakes offered a different test to Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) which he was able to pass and at the same time show his other side.
Whereas Billy Loughnane had enjoyed a trouble-free run through the 2,000 Guineas, this was a messy affair with some scrimmaging but the imperturbable rhythm of George Boughey's luminary saw him once again get there in front of Gstaad (Starspangledbanner). At the line, it was a short head this time but that tells only half the story.
“It was a very tactical race and not my finest ride, but he got me out of trouble,” Loughnane said after registering his own landmark on the 5-6 favourite. “It was a little bit muddling and didn't work out how I imagined, but he's got sheer guts and showed how good he is today.”
This renewal was in many ways shaped by the first 50 yards, as David Egan on Power Blue (Space Blues) broke faster than Ballydoyle's Puerto Rico (Wootton Bassett) and caused a concertina by sprinting down to his right from his wide stall. Sandwiched between Gstaad and Talk Of New York (Wootton Bassett) as a result, Bow Echo showed his consummate professionalism by accepting the conflict while it got to Godolphin's colt who was lit up as a result.
After the early hassle, Ryan Moore was perhaps further back than planned on Gstaad while Bow Echo was out wide taking a trip that would undermine a lesser runner. Heading into the final turn, the former was forging up the inside gap created by Christophe Soumillon on Puerto Rico but Loughnane's body language was already speaking volumes and passing the two pole the contest looked resolved.
From there it was a case of either the winner's stamina ebbing away or him switching to idle, but Gstaad's devouring stride ultimately caused it to get tight as Talk Of New York paid for his earlier exertions backing out of the fight 1 3/4 lengths further behind in third.
“I didn't want to go on the fence and I got a horrible passage around Talk Of New York, but he showed his class,” Loughnane added. “The first furlong was crucial and I got squeezed out so it was then a case of trying to manage things. He's a very determined horse with a great turn of foot and fantastic ability.”
“You kind of have to adapt and it was a case of getting him back relaxed, breathing again and into his rhythm. Once he found that, he was powerful,” he added. “Gstaad probably had a more economical route than we did and we wasted a lot of ground, but he's a very talented horse and was tough towards the business end. I'm so lucky to be sat on a horse like this at the age of 20. I just wish Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum was here to see him, he was the apple of his eye as a two-year-old.”
Masterminded through an unbeaten juvenile campaign which included Haydock's Ascendant Stakes and Newmarket's Royal Lodge, Bow Echo is testament to Boughey's data-informed approach to training with the two big three-year-old mile tests now in the bag.
“It's brilliant that he got it done–he was rolling around when he got to the front and huge credit to the runner-up who was gallant today, but he's a superstar,” the trainer said of the late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's homebred sensation, who was making it a true red-letter day for Night Of Thunder who also had the one-two in the Queen Anne.
“I think that was the first time he got into a proper battle and it was quite a scrap early doors, but I think we'll see a better horse now that he's been in a scrap like that,” he added. “It's fine margins in this game and luckily he was on the right side of it. This is very much as far as this horse wants to go–I've thought that for a while–and I think being able to ride him a little bit colder in a straightforward, evenly-run race, hopefully we can see him continue to progress.”
“It is a dream to be training horses like this, to be trusted with them, and to do it with Billy makes it even more special. He's like a younger brother, like a friend. We chat the whole time and to be able to have that affinity with a jockey is amazing. I've been lucky to have a lot of good riders ride for me, but he's an exceptional talent, both on and off the horse. He's meticulous in his planning and I think it's showing on the track. To be able to provide him with an unbeaten Guineas winner to come and win at Royal Ascot is as good as it gets.”
“Plan A would be to go to Goodwood for the Sussex Stakes,” he concluded. “He is taking his racing very well–he was ready to go a couple of weeks ago. He'll have had a race today, he'll know that, but it's very much all systems go for Goodwood.”
Aidan O'Brien said of Gstaad, “I am delighted. Ryan gave him a great ride. The race was a little bit rough early for him and Ryan ended up a little bit further back than he wanted to be, but the way he went to the line, we are over the moon with him. A furlong down, you would never say he was going to run that close and every stride to the line he was closing, closing, closing.”
“The line just came a little bit quick. We are delighted that he is coming forward and are looking forward to him,” he added. “We always thought he was a horse who was going to get further. I would say he will if we ever need to step up.”
Charlie Appleby said of Talk Of New York, “I feel we've got a nice horse that is going to progress with his career. He still showed signs of inexperience there. It was a bit rough for the first furlong or two and he just ran as though he got a bit frightened in amongst it. We are not too far off them.”
WHAT A BATTLE! BOW ECHO BEATS GSTAAD IN THE ST JAMES'S PALACE STAKES! #ROYALASCOT pic.twitter.com/OcEFzGyz50
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 16, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Bow Echo is the second foal out of the smart sprint handicapper Aristocratic Lady (Invincible Spirit), whose two-year-old colt by Starspangledbanner is named Francis Key. Her dam Dubai Queen (Kingmambo), a half-sister to Dubawi, was runner-up in this meeting's Sandringham Handicap before producing the Brigadier Gerard Stakes winner Royal Rhyme (Lope De Vega) and Frankel's Height of Fashion Stakes winner Victoria Harbour and May Hill runner-up Zabeel Queen.
Renowned as the dam of Dubawi, the Oaks d'Italia heroine Zomaradah (Deploy) was also responsible for the Lancashire Oaks winner Emirates Queen (Street's Cry) whose son Royal Champion (Shamardal) captured the Neom Turf Cup. Another of her daughters Suba (Seeking The Gold) is the second dam of Cloak Of Spirits by Aristocratic Lady's sire Invincible Spirit who was second in the 1,000 Guineas.
Tuesday, Royal Ascot, Britain
ST JAMES'S PALACE STAKES-G1, £700,000, Ascot, 6-16, 3yo, c, 7f 213yT, 1:38.48, g/f.
1–BOW ECHO (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Night Of Thunder (Ire)
1st Dam: Aristocratic Lady (Ire), by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
2nd Dam: Dubai Queen, by Kingmambo
3rd Dam: Zomaradah (GB), by Deploy (GB)
TDN Rising Star. O-Exors of the Late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid; B-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; T-George Boughey; J-Billy Loughnane. £396,970. Lifetime Record: 5-5-0-0, $1,078,081. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Gstaad (GB), 128, c, 3, Starspangledbanner (Aus)–Mosa Mine (GB), by Exceed And Excel (Aus). (450,000gns Wlg '23 TADEWE). O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Maywood Stud; T-Aidan O'Brien. £150,500.
3–Talk Of New York (GB), 128, c, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Usherette (Ire), by Shamardal. TDN Rising Star. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin; T-Charlie Appleby. £75,320.
Margins: SHD, 1 3/4, 4. Odds: 0.83, 2.00, 5.50.
Also Ran: Power Blue (Ire), Lord Britain (GB), Puerto Rico (Ire).
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