Gstaad gains Guineas compensation in style Gstaad gained ample compensation for his Newmarket second when storming to victory in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas . Aidan O’Brien’s son of Starspangledbanner, who won at Royal Ascot and the Breeders’ Cup at two, found just George Boughey’s Bow Echo too good in his first crack at Classic honours earlier this month, but like Field Of Gold 12 months ago, turned Rowley Mile silver to gold at the Curragh. With Karl Burke’s Greenham Stakes winner Alparslan leading the field along with Power Blue also towards the head of affairs, Gstaad was always just off the pace in the hands of Ryan Moore. Moore asked the 4-11 favourite to take control entering the final quarter mile and with those in behind unable to match his blistering acceleration, Gstaad readily quickened clear for an impressive three-length success over the Charlie Appleby pair of Distant Storm and Pacific Avenue. “He had a nice draw (eight) really – he was sat out there on the wing, but he was comfortable. Nothing was able to sort of get in his way and we kept it very uncomplicated,” said Moore. “I just kept asking him to creep forward from halfway and he’s got quite an extravagant stride and when able to use it, he’s an impressive horse. “He did (deserve that), he has been second a few times and has never run a bad race. Sometimes things went against him last year. “He has come back and he is a big, scopey horse and looks like he can progress further. “His mind is in an unbelievable place and there is no one better at that than Aidan. I remember him when he was a two-year-old and the way he has brought him along – he has got more confident this horse and that is down to the trainer.” O’Brien was winning the Classic for a record-extending 13th time and was thrilled to see Gstaad add a top-level triumph at three to his high-class body of form at two. “He’s a lovely uncomplicated horse and Ryan gave him a beautiful ride. He’s very straightforward and genuine,” said O’Brien. “Ryan was very happy today, he said he was a little bit lazy through the middle of the race but when he got him opened up he went to the line very well. We’re delighted. “He got beat in three Group Ones last year and we felt that he was a little bit unlucky in the three. So we were then delighted that he held on to go to America, and he won his Group One. “Sometimes when that happens horses don’t get it back but we felt there were circumstances every day he got beat. “He’s very straightforward, he just needs a little bit of room to get going. Sometimes if it gets too tactical or if he gets caught up in pace that wasn’t strong early (it doesn’t suit). “He’s probably stronger now and the Curragh was lovely. Ryan was drawn wide and you’d say that would be a disadvantage to some horses, but it was lovely for him because he was going to get a clear run and the pace was nice.” All eyes now turn to a mouthwatering St James’s Palace Stakes where Gstaad will get the chance to avenge his Rowley Mile reversal in a rematch withGeorge Boughey’s Bow Echo, while Francis-Henri Graffard’s French 2000 Guineas hero Rayif could add further spice to the mix. O’Brien added: “Ryan said the best feel he ever gave him was when he won the Coventry so you’d hope that he’d be very happy to go back to Ascot. “The horse we ran in the French Guineas (Puerto Rico) will be happy to go forward if someone else doesn’t go and this horse will be very uncomplicated. “Hopefully George’s horse comes and Francis’ horse comes. Let them all line up, that’s what racing is all about and that’s what we all want. “We’ll look forward to it. In Newmarket he was out there all the way, his first run, and he got no cover. It’s very hard to do that in Newmarket and in the last furlong he looked for a bit of company and he went right. “Bow Echo had cover for the first half of the race and when you have cover you come out and always turn it on a little bit. He came to the near side at Newmarket, which is always better. “We’d really look forward to Ascot, win, lose or draw. There will be plenty of pace on and we’ll see what happens.” Further down the line, O’Brien feels that Gstaad could get even further, with a trip to Australia a possibility: “We think he’ll have no problem stepping up (in trip) when the time comes, he looks like a horse that could go further. “We always thought that he could turn in a Cox Plate horse but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and then.”
