The reception afterwards was far more subdued than the one which welcomed Bow Echo back into the same winners’ enclosure 24 hours earlier, but the performance no less significant.
True Love was much the best in the Betfred 1000 Guineas.
She looked it beforehand too; a big, powerful filly who oozed quality. There was no danger, physically at least, that the Queen Mary heroine of 2025 was a one-season wonder.
And to be fair she had race fitness on her side too, winning a Group Three at Leopardstown on her reappearance.
Stable second string in the betting behind Precise, she was dominant on the track, devouring the rising ground under Wayne Lordan to score by a length-and-three-quarters. No doubting now whether the daughter of No Nay Never is going to stay a mile. But there was beforehand.
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Aidan O’Brien sweeps his fringe with his hand. He has time for everyone, he always has - win, lose or draw.
And he’s used to winning. This was his eighth success in the first fillies’ Classic, one shy of Robert Robson’s record. He farmed the race between 1818 and 1827.
The master of Ballydoyle had once threatened a similar level of domination but has found it harder in recent years. I was forced to double check when told True Love was his first 1000 Guineas winner at Newmarket since 2021.
Magna Grecia was his last 2000 hero in 2019. But after the high-profile blow-outs of Auguste Rodin and City Of Troy, Gstaad’s second place in Saturday’s renewal suggested he had found the key to the Newmarket Classics again.
And the door swung wide open on Sunday.
“The race that this filly won last time, nearly all of our 1000 Guineas winners had won that race on the way to here,” the trainer says, as we hang on his every word before the trophy presentation.
“Obviously there was the few of them like Love who didn’t have a run, but any of them that had run before winning here, that was the race they won then came to Newmarket”
Get the Ballylinch Stud Priory Belle Stakes, run on the day after the Randox Grand National, ringed on your 2027 calendars, folks.
“You couldn’t be sure she was going to get a mile as she was a Queen Mary winner. It is very unusual for a Queen Mary winner to get a mile and Wayne (Lordan) gave her a beautiful ride,” he continued.
“When she was able to win over seven furlongs at Leopardstown where she got no cover there was always a chance she could get the mile. The lads through the winter thought she might stay it because she is very relaxed in all her work.
“Usually, those horses that are sprinting bred you can stretch them too far, but Wayne was very patient on her today. This place, more than any track in the world, is very unforgiving. There is nowhere to hide out there. It is very open and the pace is usually on. It is hard for them to go slow as they just go at it automatically in those races so I couldn’t be happier really.
“She is very classy. Wayne said he was doing a half speed down past the two furlong pole on her.”
Sponsors Betfred have again put up a £2million bonus for any horse who goes on to complete the Triple Crown this season. The giant novelty cheque can go back in the cupboard, sadly.
Bow Echo and True Love are milers, and bloody good ones at that.
From here the show rolls on to Chester, Lingfield and York, Derby and Oaks trials galore. They’re all about the potential, stepping-stones to even bigger days at Epsom in June.
But the 2000 and 1000 Guineas are stories of the here and now. Yes, subsequent Classic winners can be lurking in behind, even champion sprinters but the day itself matters. It matters a lot.
They are the big date with destiny for the three-year-old milers. Their shot at British Classic glory. Bow Echo and True Love took theirs with aplomb.
Two good winners of the first Classics of the season always sets us up very nicely for the months ahead.
It’s been a good weekend in Headquarters.
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