Aidan O’Brien convinced Gstaad can finally beat Bow Echo after Glorious Goodwood disappointment

O’Brien remains convinced Gstaad has what it takes to finally get the better of his long-time rival Bow Echo, with the trainer already targeting another showdown in France later this year.

The Starspangledbanner colt was forced to settle for second once again in Wednesday’s Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, as George Boughey’s unbeaten Bow Echo produced another decisive finishing burst under Billy Loughnane to win by half a length.

It was the third time Gstaad has finished behind Bow Echo, following defeats in both the 2,000 Guineas and the St James’s Palace Stakes. Despite that sequence, O’Brien believes there is still every chance the form can be reversed if the pair meet again in the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp in September.

“We hope they meet again. We think our horse is progressing, and as the weeks go by, he’ll get stronger. Maybe it’ll work to our advantage, and we can make the improvement we need to.

“As a physical specimen, he’s much bigger than Bow Echo. Usually, they get stronger as the year goes on. But George’s horse might progress, and the only way we’re going to find out is if they run together again.”

The Prix du Moulin currently looks the most likely next target for Gstaad, with O’Brien keen to allow his colt time to recover after a demanding race at Goodwood.

“I think it’s [the Prix du Moulin] where he’ll end up because there’s a bit of time between now and then. It’s not set in stone, but the Moulin is five weeks away, so we’ll give him a chance to recover and go again.

“We could go back to Deauville in a few weeks [for the Prix Jacques le Marois], but it could be too early. It was a tough race yesterday and there was nowhere to hide.”

Rather than being discouraged by Bow Echo’s dominance, O’Brien says the challenge of trying to topple an unbeaten rival is exactly what motivates his team.

“We’ve met these types of horses, such as Sea The Stars, before, and we love that challenge,” he said. “It’s what makes it very interesting. We have to keep tweaking and changing things, working out what you can do, to try to make them better. Maybe they won’t come on as quickly as you want them to, but that’s part of it.”

The Ballydoyle trainer also expects Gstaad to remain over a mile and believes his colt’s physical development could yet prove decisive.

“There’s very little between them. We’ll try to beat him. Gstaad and Bow Echo are two very good colts, and yesterday was against the older horses too. What’s in our horse’s favour is that he’s a big horse and is physically improving all the time.

“You’d hope that, as the weeks go on, we’ll get closer and stronger.”