‘It’s a pinch yourself moment’ – Billy Loughnane riding high with Bow Echo

Bow Echo rose admirably to the challenge of Gstaad to get the short part of his head across the line before his rival in the St James's Palace Stakes

Billy Loughnane: "I felt a little bit of pressure coming here today on an unbeaten Guineas winner, but thankfully we managed to get the job done." Pic: David Davies/PA Wire.

If George Boughey and Billy Loughnane are to become one of the sport’s enduring and all-conquering partnerships, it seems inevitable that they will one day look back and identify Bow Echo as the horse that started it all.

The neat Night Of Thunder colt was an almost unbelievably good 2000 Guineas winner in May, stepping forward from a flawless juvenile career to soar down the Rowley Mile ahead of the huge, and hugely talented, Gstaad.