Bow Echo edges St James's Palace Stakes thriller to maintain unbeaten record for relieved Billy Loughnane

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It must have felt like the longest half-furlong in the lives of Billy Loughnane and George Boughey, but at the end of a St James's Palace Stakes where more things went wrong than right for Bow Echo, the majestic 2,000 Guineas winner still had his unbeaten record intact. 

Comparisons with Frankel have been gathering pace since Bow Echo was launched to stardom in the Guineas, and his impression of the great one's win in the St James's Palace Stakes 15 years ago was eerily good. 

Where Frankel had scrambled home from Zoffany in 2011, Bow Echo was all out at the finish to repel Gstaad – the same horse he had beaten by a comfortable two and three-quarter lengths at Newmarket – by a short-head. 

The finish was draining to watch, never mind to be a part of, so it was hardly a surprise to see the colour fade from Loughnane's face as the judge called for a photo. The heartfelt cry which followed the official verdict moments later was pure relief from the 20-year-old rider. 

"The first furlong was crucial and we got squeezed out of it early," said Loughnane, who was behind the black ball from the off. "There were five of us in a line and I slightly lost my position from there on.

"Bow Echo was then lit up and I was just trying to manage him and get him back in behind. Then Power Blue came back into our lap. That meant I had to come out and move a little bit sooner than ideal, but his guts got him through. He's determined to win and is blessed with a fantastic turn of foot and a lot of ability."

Billy Loughnane celebrates the win on Bow EchoCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Whether on board an unbeaten Guineas winner or a moderate handicapper, the round course at Ascot takes no prisoners and Loughnane found himself situated uncomfortably wide into the home straight. 

Meanwhile, Ryan Moore on Gstaad slipped up the inner of stablemate Puerto Rico and, while Bow Echo was travelling the more easily of the two, his trip had been much less economical.

When Loughnane asked his mount to quicken inside the last quarter mile he opened up a lead on his rivals, but Gstaad was starting to crank into top gear on his inner. Cue several concerned looks to his right from Bow Echo's rider, who could sense Gstaad eating into his lead all the way to the post.

"We wasted a lot of ground," conceded the winning rider, "but my horse got me out of trouble and was tough at the business end. I had to go sooner than ideal and I knew it was close at the finish, but I thought he'd hung on. There's pressure riding a horse like him, but it's a pressure you want and I'm in a privileged position to partner him. 

"I can't thank George and the connections enough. They've really put faith in me to partner a horse like him. It's a pinch-yourself moment and I can't wait for the next couple of races with him."

The next opportunity will come at Goodwood on July 29 when Bow Echo will again bid to emulate Frankel by winning the Sussex Stakes, and Boughey expects him to be all the better for having to get down and dirty on this occasion. 

"It's the first time he's been in a real battle and it was great that he was equal to it," said the trainer. "Bow Echo was more exposed than ever today. He had to come wide and I'm just so pleased we were on the right side of it; it's huge. 

"He's learning on the job and I think we'll see a better horse now he's been in a scrap like that. It was a different race to what we envisaged and, at Billy's own admission, he might have committed a bit sooner than he'd hoped, but I was really impressed with his tenacity today. 

"Plan A would be to go for the Sussex Stakes next. The horse is taking his racing very well. He'll know he's had a race today but we'll mind him and it will be all systems go for Goodwood."

Having significantly closed the gap from Newmarket, connections of Gstaad may fancy their chances if the pair meet for a third time in the Sussex. 

"It was a bit rough early for him but it was a great ride from Ryan," said trainer Aidan O'Brien. "Obviously he gets the trip very well and he's come forward again. I'll see what the lads want to do [regarding the Sussex] but we always thought he was going to get further, and I'd say he will if we ever need to step up."

Moore was handed a three-day ban, for what the stewards described as "allowing Gstaad to edge left-handed without correction causing Bow Echo and [third] Talk Of New York to become short of room" shortly after the start.

Read more from day one of Royal Ascot:

'Not one of my finest rides' - How Bow Echo bailed Billy Loughnane out of trouble in a messy St James's Palace  

'Aidan can do anything, can't he?' - O'Brien and Moore complete remarkable Group 1 set at Royal Ascot as Mission Central strikes 

Aidan O'Brien delighted with 'not typical sprinter' Great Barrier Reef - but where does he sit in the Ballydoyle pecking order at home? 

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