George Boughey has been thrilled with the physical progress made by Bow Echo since his 2000 Guineas triumph and has suggested we’ll see a different proposition this time around.
The Night of Thunder colt took his unbeaten record to four when landing the Newmarket Classic on seasonal debut. The form was franked when Gstaad won the Irish equivalent, with Distant Storm closely behind him once more.
The respective 2000 Guineas winners will likely be in the St James’ Palace next week. However, Boughey is confident that his star miler can confirm the form, and remains in rude health. Speaking on Luck On Sunday, via Racing TV, George Boughey said: “He’s a horse that my one worry with him was the ground. He was such a weak horse in the spring. When he did do one piece of work on slow ground, it wasn’t underwhelming. But he just didn’t have that turn of foot.
“The physical development this horse has shown in the last three to four weeks has been extraordinary. He did a 59-second five furlongs on good-to-soft ground, possibly slower and that’s the best he has ever gone.
“He’s a very fast horse and he might need a new lead horse quite soon as he’s only able to get Bow Echo six furlongs now in his work. I think when people see Bow Echo in the pre-parade ring at Ascot untacked they are going to see a different horse physically to what we saw at Newmarket.
‘Bored’ Bow Echo to come alive on track
Many will suggest that having been tuned up for the minute at Newmarket, Bow Echo may find it difficult to progress again. But Boughey suggested otherwise, and that he’s better than ever. “He’s still physically maturing. To the late owner’s credit, he said this was the time of year he would be upwardly mobile. I hope I’m right.
“Billy (Loughnane) has ridden him in every piece of work he has ever done and knows him so well. There’s been a couple of times he’s not quite been A1 and actually that’s when he gallops on the Cambridgeshire Road in his routine work because he’s so bored of it.”
Bow Echo will fly the yard’s flag at the Royal meeting but is set to be backed up by some smart stablemates. “We’ll have between 12 to 15 runners there and nothing like Bow Echo. But we do have a couple of unbeaten three-year-old” said Boughey.
“Protection Act goes to the Hampton Court and Westport is three-from-three and goes to the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes. So we have some lovely horses.”