There was too much rain for Limato, the morning favourite for this Sprint Cup, who was withdrawn when it became clear beyond argument that the going would be soft. It was even feared there might be too much rain for Quiet Reflection, a filly who was known to like some give underfoot but did not want it bottomless. Those fears proved needless as she could be called the winner soon after halfway.
At that point, she was hacking along behind the leaders under a motionless Dougie Costello, who looks so comfortable in 50-second races these days that it is hard to believe he was a jump jockey until about 18 months ago. Together, they bagged their second Group One success of the year, following the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in June.
“It’s unbelievable,” marvelled the winning jockey. “When you read in the paper, the likes of Franny Norton who’ve been riding all these years and have just not been lucky enough to land one [a Group One] and I come in on my first year, get on a filly like this … I’m still dreaming.”
Norton, a 46-year-old whose chance ride on Dancing Star gave him an obvious chance of a first victory at racing’s highest level, trailed home ninth as his filly tired. Costello tipped his hat to his older rival. “He must be looking at this big jump jockey who comes in on the Flat and rides two Group One winners, he must be a little bit pissed off. But these days, every jockey in there rides excellent. There’s only a megapixel between them all.”
Karl Burke, the trainer of Quiet Reflection, now uses Costello as his main jockey. “For a lad that’s been riding on the Flat not much more than a year, to go out in those races and be so cool is all credit to him,” Burke said. “He was very cool and I think that reflects the confidence he has in the filly.”
Burke’s confidence, however, had been rather rocked by the deluge that dropped 16mm on this course, most of it in the last three hours before the big race. “I know we wanted a bit of rain but I was a bit worried when it came that soft. I thought it was going to play into the hands of the older horses.”
One older horse who would have been well suited by conditions is Twilight Son, the winner of this race last year, who was taken out at Thursday’s final entry stage because the ground was expected to be on the quick side for him. A turn in the weather made that a regrettable decision. His trainer, Henry Candy, came here with Limato, who wanted a dry surface but may now have to wait until spring to get it, though Candy may consider France’s Prix de la Forêt.
Quiet Reflection, meanwhile, will be aimed at Ascot’s Champion Sprint next month, where Twilight Son may be lying in wait.
Burke’s other win on this card was largely the work of Clifford Lee, one of the apprentice finds of this season, who achieved the most valuable success of his fledgling career in the 32Red Handicap, making all aboard Intense Tango. While it was a canny ride, Lee must have been relieved to hold on by a head in a photo finish, having put up 3lb overweight, which would have looked profligate if the verdict had gone the other way.
The 20-year-old Lee acquired a love of racing by watching it on TV while growing up in Kent. “He’s a little bit on the heavy side but he’s young and he hasn’t quite worked out the art of wasting properly, or dieting properly,” Burke said.
“He’s quite a broad lad, when you look at him, and he did a bit of boxing, so he’s a strong lad. That’s one he’ll have to address, just keep that under control. You can’t be too hard on them, we knew he was going to put up overweight here.
“He’s a natural rider and he’s got good hands, he gets horses in a lovely rhythm. He only needs two more winners, now, to lose his 7lb claim, so we’ll protect him a little bit for next year because I think he’d have a good shot at the apprentice title next year.”
