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Aidan O’Brien: Why I think Gstaad might be able to beat Bow Echo
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Thu 30 Jul 2026
Aidan O’Brien is relishing another attempt at turning the tables on Bow Echo later in the season after Gstaad had to settle for second yet again in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday.
The rivalry between the Irish 2,000 Guineas hero and George Boughey’s unbeaten son of Night Of Thunder has been one of the most fascinating narratives of the current season, but so far O’Brien has come unstuck in his efforts to down the year’s leading miler.
Far from being despondent, the Ballydoyle handler is looking forward to returning to the drawing board and seeing if there are any tweaks that can be made to expose any possible chink in the Bow Echo armoury next time.
It is a position O’Brien has been in before and reflecting on both the Sussex Stakes and the future he said: “We’re always happy to finish second because you always want to run against the best horses and maybe they will meet in France.
“Our horse ran a stormer though and we hope they will meet again and I think our horse is progressing. We think our horse is a very good horse and he keeps turning up and always finishes thereabouts in his races.
“We were delighted with Gstaad and George had his horse turned out immaculate and Billy (Loughnane) gave him a masterful ride so you have to be delighted for both of them.
“We’ve met horses like these before, Sea The Stars and all the good ones and we love that – it’s what makes it interesting.
“We have to tweak things and change things and hope a horse can improve. You might change his training or do something different to try to help them. It’s all part of it and part of the mystery and the only way we can judge is when they run against each other.”
The next edition of the Bow Echo and Gstaad saga could take place in France and while it is the Newmarket colt who holds a 3-0 advantage, O’Brien is confident his charge has the capability of making his mark in the mile division before his three-year-old season ends.
O’Brien added: “I don’t know if we’ll ever take him further than a mile because Constitution River and the others are there, but we were delighted with his run.
“It’ll depend on how he is, but I think we’ll end up in France without it being written in stone. The Moulin is a bit further away than the Prix Jacques le Marois and that might give him the right amount of time to recover and go again.
“We could just as easily go again at Deauville in a couple of weeks, but that might be a bit early as it was a tough race in the Sussex.
“As a physical specimen he’s much bigger than George’s horse and they do get stronger as the year goes on.
“George’s horse isn’t a big horse and maybe he might not progress as much as the year goes on and maybe he will, but the only way to find out is when they run against each other.”
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