Bow Echo

They walked around the paddock one behind the other, like a little brother following his big brother around. The swaggering Gstaad led the more demure Bow Echo, looking as though at least a year separated them in age.  But when the time came to tussle there was no brotherly love lost as the pair fought with each stride to the line, delivering the battle royal we had hoped to see but perhaps had not dared to dream would happen. Whichever way the photo went, a Guineas winner would be crowned...

Whatever the week ahead at Royal Ascot brings, there is one certainty and that is Aidan O'Brien stretching what's possible even further from the centre. Let's get this out of the way first; the current master of Ballydoyle will undeniably form his own one-man club at some point over the next five days with his 100th Royal winner. It is a club so exclusive that it will likely see no other member for decades, with the County Wexford-born nonpareil still a relative youth in the training ranks. Ironically, his shortest-priced...

"His work has undoubtedly got stronger" is undoubtedly a statement that rival trainers would not wish to hear from George Boughey when it comes to Bow Echo. The Irish and French champion trainers Aidan O'Brien and Francis Graffard won't be running scared as such, but despite the fact they will be bringing their own Guineas winners Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) and Rayif (Sea The Moon) to Royal Ascot, Boughey's scintillating son of Night Of Thunder is plainly the one to beat in the clash of the Classic colts. The unbeaten Bow Echo...

Hong Kong's Horse of the Year Ka Ying Rising has raised his mark to 130, as the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings were released on Thursday. The son of Shamexpress won the G2 Sprint Cup and the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize recently and has won 20 consecutive races. He broke his own course record in the Chairman's Sprint Prize, prompting the increase of his mark from 128 to 130. Second on rankings is G1 Betfred 2000 Guineas hero Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) at 126, the equal of Daryz (Sea...

Bow Echo has been given a rating of 131 for his brilliant performance in the G1 Betfred 2000 Guineas by Timeform. The son of Night Of Thunder won by 2 3/4 lengths over Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) (123). Only five horses have earned a higher rating in winning the 2000 Guineas since 1970. Ranked by rating, they are Brigadier Gerard 141 (1971), El Gran Senor 136 (1984), Nijinsky II 135 (1970), Frankel 135 (2011) and Dancing Brave 134 (1986). Bow Echo is not entered in the G1 Betfred Derby for George Boughey,...

Where to begin? Perhaps to say that, though this sport faces myriad challenges, the mere thrill of actually going racing is the perfect antidote to such pernicious worries.  And it wasn't just the blazing sunshine and searing performance of Bow Echo on the Rowley Mile that has renewed the faith. A week earlier a trip to Ripon - justifiably dubbed 'The Garden Racecourse' - on a similarly sunny Saturday bit for a more ordinary race day provided no less enjoyable an experience.  It is easy to become despondent with what...

Those who say Flat racing lacks atmosphere need to wake up and get to Newmarket. No winner at the Cheltenham Festival has been cheered in to the enclosure more vociferously by a sell-out crowd than the 2,000 Guineas hero Bow Echo and his fellow young bucks George Boughey and Billy Loughnane.  At the age of 20, Loughnane is perhaps not quite still Billy the Kid but he is now Billy the Classic winner. Boughey beat him to it, four years ago, and a similarly rousing reception was given to his...

It's a case of be ready for anything over the next three days, with Friday seeing the beginning of Newmarket's three-day Guineas meeting, Ascot's card of Royal meeting pointers, the traditional May Day fixture at Saint-Cloud and the first part of an intriguing two-day meeting at Goodwood. Saturday's 2,000 Guineas and Sunday's 1,000 Guineas are at the centre of a storm of activity which will require further analysis when calm is briefly restored next week. Once the draw had been made for Saturday's G1 Betfred 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on...

Friday, Newmarket, post time: 15:30, THE BETFRED JOCKEY CLUB STAKES-G2, £165,000, 4yo/up, 12fT Field: Bay City Roller (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Eydon (Ire) (Olden Times {GB}), French Master (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Lion's Pride (GB) (Roaring Lion), Paradias (Ger) (Kodiac {GB}), Sunway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), Santorini Star (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}). TDN Analysis: Saddled with a penalty for his win in the G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern in the autumn, Bay City Roller encounters contrasting ground but could still have a class edge. Fourth in the 2022 2,000 Guineas here, Eydon will...

NEWMARKET, UK -- Rain has been in short supply in Newmarket for weeks but if the weather can be seen as a metaphor for George Boughey's mood then the spotless blue sky of Monday morning was a pretty good one.  And why shouldn't this 34-year-old be upbeat? After all, his training career, which got underway in 2019, has been on nothing but an upward trajectory over the past seven years. This bright morning, his Craven House Stables contains the favourite for Saturday's Betfred 2,000 Guineas, and it is a yard...

NEWMARKET, UK -- On the kind of morning one dreams about all winter, the wraps came off a clutch of Guineas hopes as George Boughey and Charlie Appleby made good use of the Rowley Mile ahead of the start of the three-day Craven meeting.  Boughey, who trains less than a mile from the racecourse in his new base at the appropriately named Craven House Stables, declared himself to be thrilled with the progress of Betfred 2,000 Guineas favourite Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder), who is already familiar with the track...

With Ballydoyle's press day having produced a rush of excitement for Flat enthusiasts, there is no better time to revisit some key members of the current Classic crop. With Cheltenham barely in the rearview mirror, the Guineas are already on the horizon with the key trials only just around the corner. Things are going to move very quickly between now and the first weekend in May and it is worth recalling some of the best of the 2025 TDN Rising Stars, Presented by Hagyard. As always, Aidan O'Brien is responsible...