Burke To Make Late Reflection Call

With the ground riding fast, trainer Karl Burke is set to make a last-minute decision as to whether last year's sprinting sensation Quiet Reflection (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) runs in Saturday's G2 Armstrong Aggregates Temple S. at Haydock. This is the meeting at which she first came to the fore 12 months ago when capturing the G2 Sandy Lane S. before going on to glory in the G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 Haydock Sprint Cup, with her third placing in the G1 July Cup her sole outing on ground quicker than good. “Heavy showers are forecast in the area around Saturday lunchtime, so I'd say she's 99% certain to travel to the track and we'll make a decision once we get there,” her trainer said. “If we needed to, we could leave it until 15 minutes before the race but I'd think we would have made a decision before that. It will be a late call, though.” Of how the stable's pride and joy has come through the spring, Burke added, “She's had a few little niggly problems, but we've got those ironed out now. She's in very good form and her work over the last 10 days or so has been good. We really want to get a run into her before Ascot and there were only three real options for her–last week at York, when she wasn't really ready, the Temple and then a race in France next weekend. I don't really want to travel her three weeks before a meeting like Royal Ascot, though, so we will be keeping our fingers crossed the rain arrives at Haydock and she can run.”

Clive Cox won this last year with Profitable (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and is represented this time by the impressive Listed Lansdown S. winner Priceless (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), who was fifth in the G3 Palace House S. at Newmarket three weeks ago. “It's a tough one with the ground for her, as with thunderstorms, you can never be too sure what is going to happen,” he said. “She's in good form at the moment and hopefully there will be a little bit of the track that she can perform on.” Aidan O'Brien saddles the Palace House runner-up Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and now that the key has been found to him he could benefit from the absence of his nemesis Marsha (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who also denied him in the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye at Chantilly in October.