I like the sound of BOW ECHO in the Betfred 2,000 Guineas (3.35, ITV) at Newmarket today.
George Boughey announced himself as a coming force among Britain’s training ranks when he landed the 1,000 Guineas with Cachet in 2022. And the Newmarket-based 34-year-old has a strong candidate for the colts’ Classic in the unbeaten Bow Echo, a 4-1 chance with William Hill.
The Night Of Thunder colt enjoyed the perfect two-year-old campaign, stepping forward from an impressive debut at Newbury in August to lift the Listed Ascendant Stakes at Haydock. Bow Echo then defended his unbeaten record in the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes over this afternoon’s course and distance in September.
Bow Echo, who carries the colours of the late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, needs to extend his upward curve to triumph over the Rowley Mile, but left the impression as a juvenile that the well was a long way from dry. And Boughey is confident he has continued that progress into his second season.
Like his boss, Billy Loughnane has also made a meteoric ascent through the weighing room’s ranks, gaining his first success at the top level aboard Rebel’s Romance in Germany last August. Now the 20-year-old jockey is on the threshold of a first Classic victory.
Aidan O’Brien, the leading trainer in 2,000 Guineas history with 10 wins, relies on Gstaad, and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf hero of last November is the clubhouse leader in terms of form. He is feared most, with Avicenna, King’s Trail and Alparslan taken to fight it out for the final place on the Guineas podium.
Bullet Point for Suffolk Handicap
BULLET POINT should be on your list for the Betfred Suffolk Handicap Stakes (2.20). The BHA handicapper had the William Haggas-saddled son of Advertised on a mark of 74 when he won a handicap at Newcastle in October 2024. But Bullet Point is now rated 105 which shows the progress he made last summer.
A winner at the 2025 Craven meeting on his seasonal comeback, Tom Marquand’s mount then finished second in the Royal Hunt Cup before returning to Ascot for another silver medal on King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes day in July.
My selection was back in business with a one-length beating of Cerulean Bay in the Clipper Handicap, again over a mile, at York’s Ebor fixture in August and isn’t weighted out of this on 5lb higher. Bullet Point met with defeats over an additional furlong on his final two outings of 2025 but there’s no reason why this same 9f trip shouldn’t prove within range. We will discover today.
Beckford’s Folly in Palace House Stakes
Aussie supermare Asfoora reappears in the Group 3 HKJC World Pool Palace House Stakes (2.55), but it is BECKFORD’S FOLLY who catches the eye. On the back of a gelding operation, Charlie Appleby’s son of Lope De Vega won the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes over course and distance in October.
Beckford’s Folly wasn’t far off that form when eighth – he was beaten only around three lengths – in the same-grade Abernant Stakes over six furlongs here last month, and should benefit from coming back to the minimum trip.
Double Rush and Other Selections
It’s hard to get away from DOUBLE RUSH in the Betfred Handicap (1.45), a horse 8lb up on the assessor. At Goodwood, SHES PERFECT, agonisingly demoted from first place in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches last May, is taken for a winning return in the Listed Fitzdares Conqueror Fillies’ Stakes (2.05). And HOLLYWOOD TREASURE should not be underestimated in the Listed Fitzdares Chelmer Fillies’ Stakes (1.30). The ITV cameras are also rolling in North Yorkshire, where BLUE RC makes plenty of appeal in the Sky Bet Thirsk Hunt Cup Handicap (2.40).
