BOW Echo could be standing at Kildangan Stud next year.

The unbeaten 2000 Guineas winner was retired from racing this week following a training setback during his preparation for Sunday’s Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville.

Bow Echo raced in the colours of the late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, whose racing and bloodstock operation is closely linked to Godolphin.

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid owned and bred Zomaradah, dam of Godolphin stallion Dubawi, and more recently he owned Postponed and Rosallion, both of whom were retired to stand under the Darley banner. Asked this week about the chances of Bow Echo standing alongside his sire Night Of Thunder at Kildangan Stud, Godolphin Ireland CEO Jimmy Hyland said: “There is no decision on that yet. We will be discussing it in the comings months as we are in a very fortunate position with the likes of Notable Speech and Ombudsman to consider as well. There’s a strong possibility that Ombudsman could be retired at the end of the year but, again, that is all up for discussion with the team.”

Night Of Thunder, also sire of Ombudsman, was champion European stallion last year and will be again this year. His fee was €200,000 this year and there has been industry speculation that his fee could double for 2027.

Hyland said: “Night Of Thunder covered 180 mares year and we had over 300 applications for him. The quality of the book of mares was exceptional.

“No decision has been taken on his stud fee for 2027 but it will certainly be going up considerably.”

’Complete racehorse’

George Boughey hailed Bow Echo as “the complete racehorse” the morning after announcing the retirement of his star colt. Speaking on Nick Luck’s daily podcast, the trainer said: “He had a minor setback into what we hoped was his last piece of work going into Deauville.

“The process these high-level horses go through means he is trotted up before and after every piece of work and he showed a very, very low grade lameness, which meant we X-rayed him just to make sure that he was okay and there was a slight change there.

“I do everything in the best interests of the horse to stop an injury that could be catastrophic happening. I’m looking at the horse now in his box on the camera and he’s eaten up, he’s basically sound and in very good spirits. It’s all very upsetting, but he’s been a star.” Boughey revealed had the injury happened earlier in the summer, the son of Night Of Thunder could well have made it back to the track.

He added: “Timing is everything with horses, it’s a short window these horses race and if he was to have the time off that he needs to get him back to the track he very easily could race again. Even if had happened around Royal Ascot time, there would be a distinct possibility he’d be able to run at the end of the year, so it is just timing.

“The call was made by Godolphin and us that it’s too high risk to race him on as a four-year-old and we just basically ran out of time.

“I think it was very much the right decision for everyone and I’m just very much looking forward to preparing the horse to be a stallion at the end of the season.”