Gm, Equinauts

The flat season has properly got going now and we were really spoilt for action as racing fans this weekend as we didn’t just have the Guineas meeting at Newmarket but also the latest running of the Kentucky Derby over at Churchill Downs, stateside.

It was a big weekend with a couple of standout performances on both sides of the Atlantic, a few shock results, but more importantly, a new emerging star to follow as the season really starts to take shape.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

👑 TAKE A BOW, BOW

The 2000 Guineas could have been a lot stronger on paper given we lost plenty of entrants in the build-up, but the outcome would likely have been the same for Saturday May 2nd 2026 will now forever be known as the day BOW ECHO obliterated the Guineas field

The son of NIGHT OF THUNDER travelled sweetly through out the race but when Billy pressed to button and asked him to quicken, and absolutely blew the field apart in devastating fashion:

He’d been making a name for himself for a while now, ever since we first backed him on debut, but punters were unsure on what he’d beaten up to this point and made case for why some form would be reversed with the likes of PUBLISH.

Even we took him on this weekend and we had backed his every win including debut!

Saturdays Guineas win kiboshed any such doubts or reason to take him on again as the unbeaten colt etched his name in the history books and gave us something very very exciting to look forward to for the season ahead, starting with the St James’ Palace Stakes!

The 1000 Guineas Stakes had a slightly different feel pre-race, but the outcome was remarkably familiar as Aidan O'Brien landed it for the fifth time over the last decade.

TRUE LOVE wasn’t necessarily the one everyone was talking about beforehand, but looking back at both her physique and form you end up only wanting to kick yourself.

She looked absolutely different gears on Sunday and won fairly easily under Wayne Lordan smoking a very good field including her Group 1 winning and race fave stable mate PRECISE who was the pick of Ryan Moore.

An interesting point from this year’s 2000 Guineas Stakes and 1000 Guineas Stakes weekend was that the first three home in both races all had previous course form, with the colts coming out of either the Royal Lodge or Dewhurst and the fillies from the Cheveley Park and Fillies’ Mile. This isn’t a data point to necessarily bank on every year, but it does lend weight to the argument that having previously experienced the unique demands of the track, particularly the dip, can only be a positive.

Practice makes perfect as they say!

1️⃣1️⃣NO WAY, JOSÉ

It was a huge weekend in the US and, to be honest, it delivered a bit of everything—big performances, a proper shock in the Derby, and a few storylines that will carry right through the rest of the Triple Crown.

The headline act was the 2026 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, where GOLDEN TEMPO came from miles back to win it in a wild finish. Just check out this vid of the finish featuring the trainers reaction!

He was sent off at monster odds and looked out of it early, but absolutely flew home late under José Ortiz to get up and beat RENEGADE, with OCELLI finishing third. What made it even bigger was the fact that Cherie DeVaux became the first WOMAN ever to train a Kentucky Derby winner, which is a genuinely landmark moment for the sport.

The day before, the Kentucky Oaks went to ALWAYS A RUNNER, again ridden by José Ortiz, who ended up pulling off the Oaks/Derby DOUBLE—something that’s very rarely done. She beat MEANING and COUNTING STARS, and looked a real top-class filly in doing so. It might not get quite the same attention as the Derby, but it’s still a massive race in its own right and often points toward the best fillies of the generation.

In terms of what it means going forward, GOLDEN TEMPO is now obviously the one everyone’s talking about heading into the Preakness Stakes, which is the next leg of the Triple Crown. The Derby is the first step, and now the big question is whether he even runs—connections haven’t fully committed yet—but if he does, the Triple Crown narrative is immediately alive. The Belmont comes after that, and suddenly what looked like a wide-open crop now has a clear headline horse, even if it did come from a bit of a shock result.

As for famous racing influencer Dave Portnoy, his filly LOVELY GRET was one of the big talking points going into the Oaks. She only got into the race late after a scratch and went in as a big outsider, but ended up being heavily backed thanks to the Barstool following, with her odds tumbling before the race. In the end though, she didn’t feature in the finish—ALWAYS A RUNNER and the main contenders had too much class—but just simply having her in the race is huge for Portnoy who is so so important the future of US racing.

Overall, it felt like one of those weekends that set everything up nicely—an Oaks winner who looks solid, and Derby winner GOLDEN TEMPO who could be anything but did everything for women in racing, and now all eyes on his future to see if he can can back it up in the Preakness and keep that Triple Crown story rolling…

❗REVOLUTION

Racing has so many problems right now it’s genuinely hard to find one part of the sport that isn’t suffering from some form of self-inflicted damage so it’s quite refreshing to see major players stick it the old, dusty legacy ‘suits’ who’ve run the sport for so long.

Ascot has taken a major and unexpected step by resigning from the Racecourse Association, a move that has significantly intensified pressure on British racing’s governance structures. As the sport’s premier racecourse, its decision carries far more weight than previous departures such as Towcester or Plumpton, and has been framed as a potential catalyst for long-overdue reform. Under chief executive mega-BILF (boss I’d like to…) Felicity Barnard, Ascot has shifted away from its traditionally reserved stance on industry politics, instead choosing to openly challenge what it sees as a system holding racing back.

The resignation follows wider frustration among several leading racecourses, including the The Jockey Club, York, Newbury and Goodwood, over the RCA’s failure to deliver agreed governance reforms. While some members remain engaged in ongoing talks and a review process, Ascot concluded that further negotiation would not be productive and acted independently. The move puts the RCA under intense scrutiny, with growing pressure to demonstrate meaningful change or risk further departures from other major stakeholders in the sport.

More:

WEEKEND EYE-CATCHERS

RUM STAR - NEWMARKET, 14.55 SATURDAY 2ND MAY

Bumped into a runaway leader but arguable should have hosed up. Admittedly we’re a little biased as he was our only bet of the day but the more we watch the replay, the more we think we’re right.

THALUNA - NEWMARKET, 17.20 SATURDAY 2ND MAY

Raced in rear but finished fast and just ran out of track. A win looks imminent for this well bred girl hailing for the in-form Shaggas team.

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