Only hinting at her considerable ability when winning the G3 Cornwallis S. over five furlongs at Newmarket in October and the G3 Prix Sigy over this trip at Chantilly last time Apr. 10, Quiet Reflection came forward to stamp some real authority on this competitive contest and leap to the forefront of the reckoning for the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot June 17. So far, the high-class bay has met with defeat only once and that was excusable after she raced too keenly when fifth in the G2 Lowther S. over six furlongs on her second start at York in August. Taken back to five furlongs to right that tendency, she garnered the Listed Harry Rosebery S. at Ayr in September and Newmarket's G3 Cornwallis S. the next month by a cumulative margin of 6 1/2 lengths but still went relatively unnoticed to France on her 3-year-old bow in the hotly-contested Sigy. Despite getting the better of her rivals there, she was considered below her best at the time by trainer Karl Burke and he had been eschewing confidence in the lead-up to this final stepping stone to the much-coveted Commonwealth prize. Settled with one behind early by a confident Dougie Costello, she was delivered down the outer to swoop on the lead approaching the furlong pole and surge clear for an emphatic success from Donjuan Triumphant, with the favourite Gifted Master clinging on to third after failing in his attempt to kill rivals from the front. “She's won going away and I think she's learned to settle in herself mentally,” her rider explained. “She has plenty of speed and has won in a hack canter. If anything, I hit the front too soon.” Burke added, “We always knew we had a smart filly and everybody else does now. She's a different filly to the one that won in France–our horses weren't going well then–and she has physically matured since and improved lots. It wasn't the idea to sit that far back, but when I saw him cruise up on her I thought he'd actually gone too soon. She's always been a relaxed filly and the key is her good turn of foot, so although all the talk was about her not getting six I was always confident about it and it's never bee a big concern for us. At [Royal] Ascot, we have to keep her to her own age group where hopefully the American horse [Acapulco] might give us a nice lead for us to cut her down in the sixth furlong. If it was soft, which is unlikely, we could go for the [G1] King's Stand [S. June 14], where we would get lumps of weight off horses we knew about so we'll keep our options open but we've beaten the second favourite for the Commonwealth there.” Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Saturday, Haydock, Britain
188BET SANDY LANE S.-G2, £90,000, HAY, 5-28, 3yo, 6fT, 1:10.57, gd.
1–QUIET REFLECTION (GB), 123, f, 3, by Showcasing (GB)
1st Dam: My Delirium (GB), by Haafhd (GB)
2nd Dam: Clare Hills (Ire), by Orpen
3rd Dam: Morale (GB), by Bluebird
(£32,000 Ylg '14 DNSIL; £44,000 2yo '15 DONBRE). O-Ontoawinner, Strecker & Burke; B-Springcombe Park Stud (GB); T-Karl Burke; J-Dougie Costello. £51,039. Lifetime Record: GSW-Fr, 6-5-0-0, $238,710. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Donjuan Triumphant (Ire), 129, c, 3, Dream Ahead–Mathuna (Ire), by Tagula (Ire). (€58,000 Wlg '13 GOFNOV; €50,000 RNA Ylg '14 GOFORB; 30,000gns 2yo '15 TATBRE). O-Middleham Park Racing LXXXVII; B-Patrick Cosgrove & Dream Ahead Syndicate (IRE); T-Richard Fahey. £19,350.
3–Gifted Master (Ire), 126, g, 3, Kodiac (GB)–Shobobb (GB), by Shamardal. (75,000gns Ylg '14 TATOCT). O-Dr Ali Ridha; B-Tally-Ho Stud (IRE); T-Hugo Palmer, £9,684.
Margins: 3 3/4, HD, NK. Odds: 7.00, 7.00, 1.25.
Also Ran: Buratino (Ire), La Rioja (GB), Ajaya (GB), Gracious John (Ire). Scratched: Taneen.
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