Ante-post favourite Bow Echo is firmly on course for the Betfred 2000 Guineas after delighting connections in a racecourse gallop at Newmarket.

The son of Night Of Thunder enjoyed an unblemished juvenile campaign for trainer George Boughey last season, winning each of his three starts and completing his hat-trick over the Guineas course and distance in the Royal Lodge in late September.

An 11/4 shot for the first colts’ classic of the season on May 2nd, Bow Echo returned to the Rowley Mile on Tuesday morning and certainly looked the part in the hands of Billy Loughnane, pulling clear of his stable companion and lead horse Brasil Power.

Boughey said: “Today we were only really asking him to do the same as what he did at the end of last year going into the Royal Lodge. It was pretty routine stuff and Billy was delighted.

“We haven’t had a horse before with a turn of foot like he has. He’s been to Kempton and he’s been ready for a few weeks really, which has afforded us the luxury of being able to just fill him up and let him mature.

“We took the sheet off him there and Billy went ‘jeez, he’s doing well’. He’s changing, he’s furnishing and he’s going the right way.

“He’s always been a straightforward horse, there was a question whether he was big enough last year. For me, he was running against more stamina-laden horses, who are fundamentally a bigger breed of animal. He’s the perfect size for a race like the 2000 Guineas and I’m thrilled with how he’s done.”

Market leader

Bow Echo is the 11/4 market leader with race sponsor Betfred after the winter favourite Albert Einstein fluffed his lines on his seasonal debut, while Gewan and Publish are recent high-profile absentees.

“It’s a 2000 Guineas, it’s obviously a high-level Group 1,” Boughey continued.

“It’s desperately sad to see what happened last week to both horses (Gewan and Publish). You can’t really imagine what it feels like to get that close and it not to happen, but we’ve got to play the cards that we’ve been dealt and it’s just our job to prepare our horse as best as we can, and I couldn’t be much happier with how he’s trained.

“I must admit it’s something I never dreamt of, being in a position that we’ve got a favourite for the Guineas at the Craven meeting for an owner like Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. When I got the call to train horses for him a few years ago, it was a moment I never thought would happen.

“To have a horse of his calibre, of his pedigree and his attitude to racing is a huge privilege.”

Crucial gallop

With connections having decided at the end of last season Bow Echo would not take in a trial before his bid for Guineas glory, the Newmarket handler was pleased to get this crucial gallop under his belt.

He said: “It was important, but he’s a really well-balanced horse. On the data that we’ve got, his best piece of work ever was on the Rowley Mile before the Royal Lodge and I’d be amazed if it wasn’t better this time.

“He’s got balance, he’s got a turn of foot and he stays the mile, so he’s the full package really.

“He’s a horse that has a big year ahead and I didn’t feel he needed to come today, but to tick all of the boxes, we wanted to know he was in A1 condition.

“They’ve put plenty of water on and it’s beautiful ground out there, but the faster the better for him. His work on soft ground is fine, but he’s certainly a better horse on faster ground.”