George Boughey believes Bow Echo is the best colt he has ever trained and admits he would not swap him for anything else in Saturday's Betfred 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
The unbeaten three-year-old will try and emulate his sire Night Of Thunder, winner of the opening Classic of the season back in 2014, when making his eagerly awaited return to action on Saturday in the mile Group One.
After making a winning debut at Newbury, Bow Echo took a step up to Listed company in his stride in the Betting.Betfair Ascendant Stakes at Haydock Park before signing off with victory over course and distance in the Group Two Tattersalls Online Royal Lodge Stakes.
And having enjoyed what he has described a faultless spring with his rising star, Boughey is confident he can make his mark and uphold the faith he has in him.
He said: “To have a colt that is favourite for the 2000 Guineas is very special. We have done it with some fillies so far and he has been the best colt we have had, and I’ve been pretty clear to say that. We fear everyone as it is a Group One, and it is a Guineas, but I wouldn't swap him.
“After the Royal Lodge I wanted to get a lot of footage of him and compare him from then to now and actually it sounds bizarre, but he has matured into his head. He just didn’t look anything near the finished article last year, and he still has a way to go, but in my opinion he looks much more the horse we hoped he would look like now.
“When Cachet won the 1000 Guineas she had a totally faultless spring, and I hate saying it, but so has he."
However, unlike his 1000 Guineas winner Cachet, who won the Group Three Nell Gwyn Stakes before her Classic success in 2022, Boughey has elected not to give Bow Echo a prep run, but instead give him racecourse gallops at Kempton Park and on the Rowley Mile.
And he hopes that approach will pay dividends at the weekend.
Boughey added: "He is a horse that is very good fresh. He was pretty explosive on his debut last year and we didn’t do much with him except try and look after him going into his next runs. He has been to Kempton Park to gallop and he has galloped on the racecourse here so we have got his blood up a couple of times. I just didn’t need to trial him, and I haven’t.
“The racecourse gallop at Newmarket was more about getting him back on the track. He is a very well-balanced horse and it was just nice to see him quicken through the dip again. We were able to control the narrative over seven furlongs.
“He did a faster time than the gallop before the Royal Lodge as it was more of an end-to-end gallop. Billy was happy, and I was happy, and it was backed up by the clock. It is only a very small part of the puzzle, but it is all part of the puzzle.
“If the Craven was seven furlongs it might have been a different matter, but I thought running him over a mile first time out to then run in a Guineas was probably not the right decision.”
Not only will the race be a big moment for Boughey, who moved into his new base at Craven House Stables last year, but it could also provide a landmark victory for stable jockey Billy Loughnane.
And although the 20-year-old is yet to taste Classic glory, the Newmarket handler admits he has plenty of faith in his number one rider being able to deliver on the big stage.
Boughey added: “I can’t remember how many times I’ve said it, but Billy is the full package for me. We work very well together. As well as being a brilliant jockey, he has got a great mind. I consider him to be a friend and he talks to me about anything. I think that gives him the freedom to ride with complete confidence.
“We walked the track the other night and it was more to give him the confidence he can ride the horse how he finds him. I won’t tie him down to any instructions as he is unbeaten on the horse, and he has ridden him in all of his work this year, and no one knows him better.
“Whether it is Wolverhampton or Newmarket he is a pretty cool customer. We have trained one hundred winners for the last four years and have been lucky to fall upon some horses that have run at the top table. It is hugely important to try to get another winner like this. The big horses are what it is all about."
Once again there will be a £2 million bonus on offer put up by race sponsor Betfred for any horse that can become the first horse since Nijinsky in 1970 to complete the Triple Crown of winning the 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger.
However, Boughey admits he is unlikely to be chasing that with Bow Echo.
Boughey added: “I think he is a miler. He might have had a different prep last year as he always showed the pace to win over six furlongs.
“I like to hold my horses over their optimum trip as long as we can. He could have easily gone to a six-furlong maiden the same week that he made his debut, then he could have gone to Doncaster for the Champagne, then he could have run in the Dewhurst, so he could have had a very different look to him.
“It kind of paints a picture that I think he is a stronger stayer than he probably is. He clearly did stay and he was a winner of the Royal Lodge. I would be surprised if we saw him over ten furlongs though as he is showing a huge amount of pace and we will look to harness that.
“To win a Guineas I think you need athleticism, I think you need balance, and you need speed. He is a very good-moving horse and for the job he is bred to do I think he is the perfect size horse.
“I would like them to go an even gallop, which they usually do in a Guineas. The one thing he has always shown is that he can relax. I think the harder they go the better. There are a few horses in there that have stamina in their pedigrees. They should go a nice gallop and as long as he can follow a horse I would be happy with where he lands.”
And while Bow Echo will have every bit of assistance he needs in the saddle from Loughnane, he feels he will have help from the skies above from his late owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, who passed away in December.
He added: “The late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid was incredibly good for me and this was the second crop of yearlings that he sent us, and it is a life changing thing when things like that happen.
“He sent us ten homebreds that year and we bought some horses from the sales and it has enabled us after winning the One Thousand Guineas, and having Via Sistina, the chance to find another good one. How hard they are to find everyone knows.
“Sometimes the year after someone passes they have an amazing year. We saw it with the Aga Khan, we saw it with Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and I’m sure he will be watching.”
Aside from bidding to bag a breakthrough 2000 Guineas success Boughey will also take aim at the Group Two Betfred Dahlia Stakes with Survie on Sunday.
However, stablemate Protection Act, who holds an entry at the meeting on Friday in the Listed JCB Newmarket Stakes, appears set to head to Goodwood on the same day.
He added: “It was a bit of an experiment running [Survie] in the Snowdrop over a mile. We had been trying to get her to relax to run over 12 furlongs in the Sheema Classic. She then didn’t travel and the trainer decided to run her a week later over a mile. She had probably gone to sleep, then was a step slow and came home nicely.
“She is a filly who doesn’t live on her nerves, but is an active filly. I just wanted to get a run into her. I think we will see a very different horse on Sunday.
“I’m afforded the luxury with Coolmore allowing me to run her where we do. Michael is keen to run her on Sunday. She could go to Saratoga for the New York Stakes on Oaks day.
“Protection Act is in at Newmarket, but I think he will probably go to Goodwood. His work has been solid this spring, but he is still coming in his coat.
“In the last four days when we have had a bit of sun he has just started to flourish. If we are to get him to a Hampton Court, or something like that at Royal Ascot, he needs to get his skates on a little bit. He had a Guineas entry, and he came out at the last stage, but he is a horse that we have always held in high regard.”
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