Bow Echo edges out Aidan O'Brien's Gstaad in Sussex Stakes thriller at Goodwood

Bow Echo’s dazzling turn of foot once again came to fore as he came out on top of Aidan O’Brien’s Gstaad in an epic renewal of the Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. George Boughey’s unbeaten colt was a brilliant winner of the English 2,000 Guineas before overcoming adversity to register a workmanlike victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and was the 10/11 favourite to complete a famous hat-trick at Goodwood last achieved by the one and only Frankel in 2011. It was again not an easy watch for odds-on backers, with Bow Echo stuck in the middle of the pack with plenty of work to do as the race began in earnest, but he ultimately went through the gears in stunning fashion in the final half-furlong to get up and beat old rival Gstaad by half a length. Boughey said: “He’s got an explosive turn of foot, it was probably a bit messier than we might have thought with the gallop they went. Huge credit to Billy again for being ice-cool. He’s an extraordinary horseman and rider to go with it and Billy producing the horse like he is is just phenomenal. “But fundamentally, what an animal. The constitution to have another rough race, relax through it then find the line as strong as he did – I’m lost for words really. “He’s so fast, he’s like a motorbike. He stays the mile, but has an exceptional turn of foot to go with it. Billy has had tremendous belief in this horse for a long time and so have I. “We knew what happened at Ascot and it was just having the confidence to take stock and go again. I always thought this was the race for him, we had to get him back from what was a hard race [at Royal Ascot], but he’s shown how good he is there. “It was always going to be messy, a Sussex Stakes with 12 runners. But it was to the letter how we wanted to ride the horse. There were a few gaps that closed and Billy had to sit tight and come round, but it was brilliant.” Emulating Frankel with his Newmarket, Ascot and Goodwood treble is an achievement that gives his handler overwhelming pride. Boughey added: “It’s not lost on me what he has achieved this year and it dawned on the last few days I might never be in this position again. There are a lot of trainers who have trained a lot better horses than I have who haven’t been in this position. “It’s desperately sad Sheikh Mohammed Obaid isn’t here to see him and this is 30-plus years of work to get here. I can’t put into words what this horse means to me and he’s a warrior as well as being a very fast horse.” Having delighted on home soil, he could now head on his travels. Boughey said: “The plan was either to go to France for the Prix Jacques le Marois or the Prix du Moulin. We would love for the horse to end up in a Breeders’ Cup Mile at the end of the year and I think round a bend in America off a strong pace will suit him well.” Loughnane added: “They made life difficult for him, but I always wanted to follow Ryan [Moore, on Gstaad], that was my plan. I knew the pace would be on with the set-up of the race. I was boxed in between Ryan and Christophe [Soumillon, on Puerto Rico] and I just had to wait to get out. But once I did, he proved how good he is.” Earlier, Flora Of Bermuda landed a first win over seven furlongs to open new routes in Group company when outclassing her rivals under James Doyle in the Rolls-Royce Oak Tree Stakes. The Andrew Balding-trained filly had previous plied her trade almost exclusively at six furlongs, placing at Group One level and winning the Group Three Summer Stakes at York last time out. But opportunities at both six and seven furlongs now beckon for the five-year-old after she produced a solid performance as the 5/2 favourite to land this Group Three contest by a neck from Sayidah Dariyan, with Radiant Beauty third. The Wathnan Racing-owned Flora Of Bermuda sat in sixth place as Zanthos cut out the early running but after starting to make ground at the cutaway, she took it up at the furlong pole and stayed on strongly to the line.