Brilliant 2000 Guineas hero Bow Echo is to head straight to Royal Ascot according to trainer George Boughey. The St James’s Palace Stakes is next on the agenda for the three-year-old.
Bow Echo drifted from favouritism for the 2000 Guineas, but punters were proven wrong. Billy Loughnane positioned the son of Night Of Thunder ideally in mid-pack down the centre of the Rowley Mile. Once daylight appeared as the race unfolded, Bow Echo’s answer was emphatic.
Sweeping through his group of runners, the danger was Gstaad on the far side of the track. However, even though the Ballydoyle runner put eight lengths between himself and the third, Bow Echo remained too strong. He was two-and-three-quarter lengths ahead at the line.
The victory maintained Bow Echo’s unbeaten record in four starts under rules. His 2000 Guineas effort rates as one of the strongest in recent runnings and far outranks any of his juvenile successes. An Irish 2000 Guineas entry could have been taken up in an attempt for a Classic double. However, Royal Ascot is now up next, with the St James’s Palace Stakes the target.
He’s just a straightforward, high-class horse” – Boughey
The 2000 Guineas was the primary early-season target for Boughey. Thinking further ahead was never an option, but now that victory has been secured, patience will prove a virtue according to Bow Echo’s handler.
“He was trained for the 2,000 Guineas and this gives us a nice gap to freshen him up and go again,” Boughey said to the Racing Post. “It makes sense to give him that bit of time.”
As such, Royal Ascot provides a perfect window for his fifth race. The royal meeting takes place between June 16-20, a seven-week gap since Newmarket. It is not just the preparation time that appeals to Boughey, however.
“I think the track will suit him really well. He switches off, travels strongly and has a turn of foot. On fast ground, which you tend to get at Ascot, he should be very effective.”
Good news for his backers in the aftermath arrived in Boughey’s post-race review. Bow Echo has been in excellent form since and the racing world remains his oyster.
“He’s come out of the race in very good shape. He’s just a straightforward, high-class horse.
“Ascot is very much the plan. It’s somewhere we’ve always hoped we’d get to with a live chance, and to go there now as a Guineas winner is very exciting.”
Thereafter, a step up in trip could be undertaken, but 1m contests a firmly the short-term plan.