Bow Echo retired

What a joke. To many retiring early. Burnham needs more tax payers.

Shame that.Looking forward to him & Gstaad racing each other again.
Must have picked up a knock,they were talking about future targets
after the Sussex Stks I thought.

That is a shame a very very good horse 6 from 6 just shows how well sir Henry and frankel did 14 from 14

Be nice to actually know what the set back was after all reports were that he was doing soooooo swimmingly well!

only needs a little tap for one so valuable...hope that's the case

or no tap at all

Frankel had a big gash on leg but didn't stop Sir Henry showing the world how good he was

horses are more fragile than ever despite advances in equine science and they aint going to get stronger. for many reasons

“It has been the honour of a lifetime to train a horse like Bow Echo. He has given us some extraordinary days and taken everyone involved on a journey we will never forget. To retire unbeaten, having won the 2000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes says everything about what an exceptional racehorse he has been.

I think the clue is in the "retiring unbeaten" boast.

The horse has been racing for just less than a year. No mention yet of what the "setback" actually is.

Seems like the plan was not to run next year anyway (otherwise they wouldn't they have just said he's out for the season) and this has just brought it to an end a bit sooner.

Not one of the racing publications have posted what the "setback" is.
Surely a journalist somewhere is interested.

They said on Sunday that he was due to work on Tuesday (today) to decide on his participation in the Marois.

Quite handy. All the cheerleaders plaudits can remain unchallenged. Golden Fleece retired unbeaten after four races. To me he looked potentially brilliant, whereas I suspect this horse was just a touch better than a pretty average bunch. It helped the narrative that it could be combined with Loughnane.

In his short career managed to beat assert twice and stannera

Must be sickening for the trainer as it won't be his decision. Wait a lifetime for a horse like this and gone before he could become one of the greats.

Well, what a disappointment.

Just when we were all relishing having 'got one' -- to raise Horse Racing's profile with the public -

- as the 'Billy the Kid' connection was a 'gimme' for the Newspapers and Television, had Bow Echo progressed in the anticipated way.

A convenient injury..overrated horse beats the same similarly overrated horse three times..time to pull stumps

you have a good memory jimnast ,mines goosed i go up 2 flights of stairs at home to get something and when i get up there ive forgotton what i went up there for .

Foyles I also remember when assert won the benson and hedges ( judmonte) pat eddery hadn’t told anyone he had a broken bone in his hand until after the race,incidentally stannera won two races at the same royal Ascot and the horse Golden Fleece beat in what was not a strong derby went on to win the st leger.

One other fact I remember was William hill were offering 2/1 both the pope (Falklands) and Golden Fleece both been in England on derby day as Golden Fleece had reportedly had a setback leading up to Epsom.ironically it was Englands main hope simply great who never got to Epsom

The racing and ground have finally taken its toll on the horse. As an admirer and punter of Bow Echo the only consolation I gain from this premature news is he's always won for me.

Happy Retirement Bow Echo!

Well that’s absolutely magnificent impossible that he always won for you I’m sure the disappointment of many who were looking forward to seeing him run again will be eased tonight now.

He only ran six times. Hard to think that all the "racing" was behind his retirement.

His next targets would have been abroad, that was a new test entirely to travel him, that has had a big bearing on this decision.
Talk of the Breeders Cup Mile before doing so was a complete joke.

Now the post has gone into hyperbole.

I was looking forwards to seeing how he measured up against Notable Speech (one of a couple who are shoeing up in France) on a track that suits an opponent with a turn of foot.

In the Sussex you can see 1 f out where he clips Gstaad, this is something that Billy is doing more than I like, riding up the rear of others and tailgating.

I wonder if he was also injured there as Gstadd was said to have had two cuts.

I take most stories in racing with a tipper load of salt……

You’d be right to, they won the races that matter so they don’t have to take the extra risk.

They’ve compared him to others others who’ve done the Guineas, SJP, Sussex.

But Henry won the Irish with those, his stumbling block came in the Moulin when drawn out wide, so maybe they are keen not to do the same.

I’m not sure if Bow would have remained unbeaten if he’d gone to Ireland. So he’s been handed very well to remain retired unbeaten.

I thought all along after handing out beatings to Gstaad, (and others), probably a Secretariat style of 'syndication' could be on the cards. Has this happened?

I could never understand this horse being mentioned in the same breath as Shergar,Golden Fleece,Dancing Brave,Sea the Stars,Frankel...desperation to create a new superstar.Be interesting to see where Gstaad ends up(unless he succumbs to his injury and gets a convenient retirement)

Nothing in the Sussex Stks which suggests he clips heals with Gstaad.

Well maybe AOB is lying about the two cuts?

But he was up his rear and the commentator said that before his challenge, it looked to me that Gstadd’s rear left leg was struck.

No other horse could have done the damage and Billy has previous with riding too close.

"It obviously hurt him, because it was deep," O'Brien replied. "He got two proper gashes in his hind leg, that's why he had to go on the extra-strong antibiotic."

No,just a bit too convenient for both of them...

Pity they've both avoided the Jacques le Marois...More Thunder would have been a cracking e.w. price with either in the race

From the shadows and light it’s very difficult to say but his hind left leg kicks out, Hoiles, “Bow Echo is getting into his back…”
He was being held in by P.Rico at the time.

, “Bow Echo a little locked up in traffic, Seagils Eleven threatening to drop into Bow Echo’s lap.” 

He has to angle out there and is half a length up sides, there where it could have happened.


There’s no Notable Speech (which I find very odd given the news and his run last year) in France and More Thunder is 9/2.

No mention of Bow Echo clipping heals after the race by any one I can remember.
Also don't see any horse bobbling like they've clipped heals,especially going
the speed they were.

"He got two deep cuts in his hind leg, obviously he got galloped into in the race," O'Brien explained on Racing TV.

Those moments mentioned is when it could have happened but it’s not an argument, Billy takes risks riding like and had brought one horse down already at Goodwood riding in the same manor.

When a horse gallops into itself don’t see.

As said Gasstds action of his left hind seemed different after to me.

Either way they’ve bailed out early with Bow.

PRico is entered for the Moulin so that’s more likely a reason for Gasstd showing should he run. (Not saying that he wasn’t cut, but the extra meds might be the excuse needed to miss France, it wasn’t the thought of Bow Showing.)

*sorry entered for the Marois

The injury is to Bow Echo's left fore fetlock.

Aug 11, 2026 -- 7:08PM, FOYLESWAR wrote:

you have a good memory jimnast ,mines goosed i go up 2 flights of stairs at home to get something and when i get up there ive forgotton what i went up there for .

and all those cold cups of tea lying in the kitchen I forgot I made - I dunno why we think we can pick winners or lay losers when I forget a cuppa tea I made hours ago :D

Platinum where did you get that from mate?

Platinum 12 Aug 26 13:15Joined: 13 Feb 04
The injury is to Bow Echo's left fore fetlock.



From the Thoroughbred Daily News.

Cheers Platinum

is this right or have i misread/misundertood a quote for lucky podcast
after consultation with GODOLPHIN weve agreed to retire him ?

Yes it says that they made the call on it.

Owner was part of Sheikh Mo's family.Godolphin might've took over
when he died.

cheers nuff said ,could have raced on but BOUGHEY either  didnt have the final or any say in it

Pointless speculation as we will never know

heaven forbid a horse racing forum dabbles in uniformed speculation,but a cynic might suggest BOUGHEY dropped the GODOLPHIN quote in there for a reason, IE nothing to do with ME GUV

His horses have always been linked with Darley.

The owner liked to be obeyed..forbade Boughey from running the horse in the Dewhurst I think..his choice of trainers eg Varian and Boughey seemed the mild mannered supine type..Luca told him to f@ck off if I remember correctly..Burke was a slightly different case but a proven cr@@k is easy to overrule..very likely this was always the plan to chicken out before taking the risk of getting found out..even Baaeed won 10 times in his career and doesn't get a mention when they're talking up this horse..I think they've gone a bit early.

You're correct. It was the owner who decided against a run in the Dewhurst.
Reasoning he wanted to let him mature more, and ready him for the Guineas.

people might no the tie up between owners of bow echo and godolhin,but in the 6 runs, million word,s  spoken,written about the horse,ive never heard the words GODOLPHIN used in any of them,till yesterday

Obaid owned Zomaradah, mother of Dubawi.

Is it why Notable Speech is going a York and never was going to face him?

Because of this link?

I never knew the executors of the late Sheikh Obaid (owner of Bow Echo and Postponed) and Godolphin were related business-wise. I hope the offspring of Bow Echo could be as good as their old man in the future.

^
Yep, they’ll all be at least as good, or may be even better than Bow Echo.

i just wish the doubters etc would realise , now what cecil did with frankel was arguebly best training performance ever, to train a head strong colt to win all them races from 2 to 4 years old and up in distance against a very strong juddmonte field , and all that when not a well man, that why for me he is the greatest trainer ever

You won’t get an argument from me on that post elisjohn

You could have added in Henry we trusted

One could rely on Sir Cecil. He'd only nominate one target for his superstar. Also, he'd take no nonsense from his stable jock either. I can still remember he was unhappy that Cauthen did not make the racecourse on time to ride Faustus because his chartered heli could not take off because of the fog.

Thank god that Frankel had the right connections

If he'd have had Bow Echo's owners he'd have been packed off to stud after that injury "scare" at the start of his 4 year old career.

I have never doubted the brilliance of Frankel.
Everyone could see from his Guineas win, what a bull he was.
It would have been impossible to step him up in trip as a 3 year old.

But let's not forget the leg up Cecil got as a trainer. Not doubting his ability,  but it is not as though he came from nothing.
And every year getting the first pick of home breds from the finest breeding operations around.

Nobody said Sir Henry "came from nothing".  Hardly any top trainer can claim that can they ?

In the 70s and 80s in particular he was up against powerful stables such as Stoute, Hern, Harwood, Cumani, Dunlop , Hills etc
All of those trainers had top owners supplying them as well.  A much more competitive environment than today.