Gstaad (GB)

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...

For 60 days straight over the winter at Will Walden's Palm Meadows base in Florida, MGISW Rhetorical (Not This Time) underwent a different kind of training. Instead of being turned out for the off-season like so many horses, his trainer decided that it was time to unveil a new project where skills like dressage would be emphasized. The work that the gelding put in over those months has paid off and now the New York-bred Horse of the Year owned by Gary Barber, Cheyenne Stable and Wachtel Stable will point...

Gaining handsome compensation for his defeat in the 2,000 Guineas, Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) dominated Saturday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas with a genuine tour de force at The Curragh. Covering the mile in race-record time which eclipsed the previous best of Desert Prince's in 1998, Ballydoyle's 4-11 favourite turned the screw from two out to beat Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder) by three lengths. Godolphin's other runner Pacific Avenue (Dubawi) was a further length away in third. "It was very straightforward," Ryan Moore said. "We didn't go that quick early, but...

Ballydoyle's crack three-year-old Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) will face nine rivals in Saturday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at The Curragh. Following the expected withdrawals of the stable's Group 1 winners Puerto Rico and Hawk Mountain, the 2,000 Guineas runner-up will have only Neolithic (Sioux Nation) for company with the Rosegreen duo drawn in eight and 10 respectively. Godolphin's Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder), who was third at Newmarket, will be partnered by that Classic's winning rider Billy Loughnane in the absence of the suspended William Buick and departs from stall six, while...

A wide-open G1 Betfred 2,000 Guineas on paper turned into a two-horse race approaching the final furlong and then a singular domination from Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) as George Boughey's TDN Rising Star dismissed his only threat Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) with a mighty display on Newmarket's Rowley Mile. Delivering poignancy as well as class carrying the colours of the late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, the 9-2 shot brushed aside the 3-1 joint-favourite Gstaad heading to the closing stages and powered to an emphatic 2 3/4-length victory in a fast 1:35.59. There...

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...

Left out of most equations following his fourth in the Champagne, Yuesheng Zhang's Gewan (Night Of Thunder) bounced back in style on unseasonably quick ground to cause a 25-1 upset in Saturday's G1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes. Always in the front line under James Doyle, the Andrew Balding-trained grey who had earlier won the Acomb at York drifted over to the stand's rail but maintained his momentum to deny Ballydoyle's well-backed 7-4 favourite Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) by 3/4 of a length. Godolphin's Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder) was 1 1/2 lengths away in...

In a fairytale ending to one of the key stallion-making races of the season, the judge's photo showed the 35,000gns Without Parole colt Zavateri in front of the 450,000gns buy Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) at the culmination of Sunday's G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes at The Curragh. Having been 18-1 when swooping in Newmarket's G2 July Stakes and 8-1 when following up in Goodwood's G2 Vintage Stakes, Mick and Janice Mariscotti's Tattersalls October Book 2 bargain was 15-2 this time as Charles Bishop waited patiently for his effort in rear. Showing...

The Curragh's Group 1 bonanza on day two of Irish Champions Weekend has attracted an aggregate 38 declarations after final fields for the track's four elite-level contests were confirmed Friday morning. Illinois (Galileo), with Christophe Soumillon booked to ride, is one of two Aidan O'Brien entries, the other being Queenstown (Galileo), and heads a field of nine in the G1 Comer Group International Irish St Leger. The undefeated G2 King Edward VII Stakes victor Amiloc (Postponed) is one of three overseas nominees. Ballydoyle has three of the six runners, headed...

Lining up in a stellar renewal of Deauville's G1 Sumbe Prix Morny as the sole filly, Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy's Venetian Sun (Starman) did what she has been doing so well to her own sex in 2025 and got the job done. Tracking the strong pace travelling kindly under Clifford Lee, the 29-10 second favourite edged ahead passing the furlong pole and after outstaying Wise Approach (Mehmas) found the line a short neck ahead of the 11-10 favourite Gstaad (Starspangledbanner). "She does everything so relaxed and has a temperament...

Even without Albert Einstein, Ballydoyle were able to come up with one to completely dominate another seemingly competitive renewal of Royal Ascot's G2 Coventry Stakes on Tuesday. The colt in question was Starspangledbanner's Gstaad, a half-brother to Vandeek who had beaten the yard's much-vaunted filly True Love on debut at Navan last month and generated enough support here to start as the 7-2 favourite. Always travelling strongly up the centre, the bay who at 450,000gns was the top-priced colt at the 2023 Tattersalls December Foal Sale streaked away from two...

Aidan O'Brien trainee Gstaad (Starspangledbanner), a 450,000gns Tattersalls December foal and half-brother to G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park Stakes hero Vandeek (Havana Grey), made a winning debut in Saturday's Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Navan. The 7-1 chance produced a determined effort to deny stablemate True Love (No Nay Never) by 3/4-of-a-length nearing the line in the six-furlong contest.   NOT the finishing order the market expected 450,000gns Starspangledbanner colt , a half-brother to Vandeek, makes a winning start to his career by getting up late on...