Affair makes appeal
George Boughey had a week to remember with three winners, including Bow Echo’s narrow success in the St James’s Palace Stakes. Expect the 2000 Guineas winner to extend that winning margin if crossing swords with Gstaad once again in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. Reminiscent to Frankel’s all out win in the same event in 2011, everything conspired against him on Tuesday, but the Night of Thunder still managed to find a way to win. Granted a more patient ride, he possesses too much speed for the Ballydoyle runner and the contours of the Sussex Downs ought to play to his strengths.
Earlier in the day, stablemate ROSY AFFAIR didn’t look out of place in Group 1 company for the first time when finishing fourth in the King Charles III Stakes. Twelve months earlier, the five-year-old only finished fourth in the Listed Land O’Burns Stakes at Ayr. A Group 3 and dual Listed winner since, she is improving all the time and produced a career best effort here. Drawn in stall 11, Billy Loughnane’s partner stayed on strongly getting within a length and a half of the winner Mission Central. The first three home emerged from boxes 24, 15 and 19, while the fifth, sixth and seventh were berthed in stalls 23, 22 and 26.
Versatile in terms of ground, she handles cut underfoot and it wouldn’t be a surprise if she made an impact in the Prix de L’Abbaye at Longchamp (4th October) – provided she is drawn well, of course. Makarova won the Group 1 contest as a five year old mare in 2024.
