The Weekly Wrap

The inauguration last year of the Commonwealth Cup as a fully-fledged Group 1 was an exceptional indulgence, but it is hard to argue with the results. True, it is hard to imagine that the field assembled for the second running would have been materially altered by Group 2 status, as not one of the runners would have had to shoulder a Group 1 penalty. But it should be remembered that the race had long been targeted for the dual Group 1 winner Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) until derailed by injury; while the first running had drawn a pair of Group 1 winners at two in Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) (Kodiac) and Hootenanny (Quality Road).

In the event both those horses disappointed on the day and have since virtually disappeared. But just look at the way the race has panned out ahead of them.

For the scintillating Muhaarar (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), of course, the drop back from a mile proved to be his big breakthrough and he was unbeaten in three Group 1s thereafter. Runner-up Limato (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}) has continued to thrive this time round, confirming his own Group 1 calibre in the Darley July Cup. The next two home evidently ran into physical problems but fifth was Profitable (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who has blossomed with maturity and a drop to five furlongs this season, notably in winning the G1 King's Stand S. He was followed by Home Of The Brave (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), since confirmed as a rock-solid Group 3-Group 2 operator over seven furlongs.

This race was introduced to protect the Classic generation from too steep a learning curve in a discipline that has always played literally to the strengths of mature, brawny professionals. Its promoters presumably expected the biggest beneficiaries to be those precocious achievers with runs on the board at two, in races such as the G1 Middle Park S. and, with a Southern Hemisphere head start, even the G1 Golden Slipper. As things have turned out, however, the real dividends have been shared among horses consolidating their development in both physical and mental terms. Had they remained with no alternative but to be bullied by old bruisers, who knows what lasting scars might have arrested their progress?

There is no denying that the second running of the Commonwealth Cup, both on the day and since, seems to have lacked the same depth–albeit one who ran down the field, Donjuan Triumphant (Ire) (Dream Ahead), did run second in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. But the fortunes of the winner herself amply redress any relative deficiency. Quiet Reflection (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) has graduated to hold her own against older horses, first making the podium in the July Cup and now franking her Group 1 status in the 32Red Sprint Cup at Haydock. Sprinters often have an erratic profile, but she has been able to progress stage-by-stage for a career tally of seven wins in nine starts.

Much credit for this, clearly, goes to her trainer. Karl Burke, once perilously close to the brink, has rebuilt his career in spectacular fashion. Although his name was not formally restored to a training licence at the time, following a 12-month suspension, he and his wife Elaine came astonishingly close to ending Yorkshire's Derby drought when Libertarian (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), a 40,000gns Tattersalls Breeze-Up graduate, stormed up the straight for second in 2013. And last year Odeliz (Ire) (Falco), found as a yearling by Burke for just €22,000 at Arqana, won two Group 1 races. Quiet Reflection herself cost £44,000 from the Goffs UK Breeze-Ups at Doncaster last year. Yet while Burke's long and winding road shows him to be as able as he is resilient, a rather smaller sample of evidence also invites a positive view of the Commonwealth Cup.

Gold Standard of Tin Trainer…

Having said all that, there is another side to the story. The exclusion of younger sprinters has unquestionably changed the complexion of the established six-furlong championship at the royal meeting. Though reliably shored up nowadays by long-haul raiders–this time round, from Hong Kong, the U.S. and Australia–the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. drew just nine runners. And it was a totally different race, as a result, run at such a diffident tempo that most of them had only reached third gear at the line, the first five divided by barely half a length. One of the principal victims was The Tin Man (GB) (Equiano {Fr}), who failed to settle and ultimately beat only one home.

Now, while Karl Burke can add himself to the list of Yorkshire trainers who wonder how the same page has apparently been torn from the atlases of the game's biggest spenders, the Newmarket yard responsible for The Tin Man is one that seems just as unfairly neglected. James Fanshawe, of course, does not need race programmers to save his horses from being pushed too hard, too soon. And his exemplary patience, with those that will only reach their full potential if allowed the time to do so, has doubtless cost him the support of patrons who cannot tell haste from speed. But nobody should overlook his versatility. With the right materials, he is no less proficient in getting a horse up and running: Soviet Song (Ire) (Marju {Ire}) won the first of her five Group 1 races as a 2-year-old, after all, while Fanshawe's CV also includes the Champagne, Lowther and Gimcrack S. Perhaps a trainer with a brasher, pushier style might not have suffered the same misapprehensions; but you would like to think that any discerning patron would prefer one who matches such skill with such intelligence, modesty and quirky charm.

Anyhow, The Tin Man ran a quite remarkable race to chase home Quiet Reflection, his predilection for quickening past horses having been stretched to an unfortunate degree by a very slow break. Though the winner was duly able to travel better for longer, the amount of work he had to do to follow her through underplayed his superiority to the rest of the field. Though a year older, he has still only had 10 races and looks eligible to keep repaying his circumspect grounding as he matures–much as is proving true of Fanshawe's latest Group 1 winner, just a couple of weeks ago in Deauville, Speedy Boarding (GB) (Shamardal). She, too, has only 10 ten races and, as a homebred, profits from a common breadth of perspective in owner and trainer.

While the talk is of a rematch for The Tin Man and Quiet Reflection at Ascot, the filly's comfort in the deteriorating ground at Haydock suggests that she could well be best favoured by conditions there. Given the sporting spirit that animates his syndicate owners, perhaps some consideration might instead be given to sending The Tin Man to the Turf Sprint at the Breeders' Cup?

Sky The Limit For Heaven-Sent Pair…

You might think that precious little could be gleaned from a colt beating a solitary rival at odds of 1-10, but Seven Heavens (GB) (Frankel {GB}) produced one of the most intriguing spectacles of the week in taking his record for John Gosden to two-for-two at Goodwood on Tuesday. He has plainly inherited a good deal of his sire's charisma, exuding a gusto that would simply not be sustainable in ordinary horses.

Lit up by an early bump, he was furiously impatient with his rider's restraint. Yet once allowed to assert he was like a fish restored from the deck to the sea, all the energy he had put into his flapping and floundering now channelled into a flawless forward flow. They say that Frankel, in his youth, wanted to run before he could walk. In the same way, signs of mental immaturity in Seven Heavens are no reflection of his scope. On both accounts, it should be borne in mind that he is a May 21 foal. So for all that he approached the first half of the race like a tearaway, the way he bounded through the seventh furlong made it easy to picture him going one more–just like his sire, albeit the race was then still staged round the turns of Ascot–in the G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S. at Newmarket.

As a 620,000gns Tattersalls yearling, it will be hoped at Juddmonte Farms that Seven Heavens can complement the sensational emergence of their new American champion Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) at Saratoga last weekend, having likewise been picked out at the sales in the hope of adding some extraneous pep to the in-house breeding programme. Incidentally the dam of Seven Heavens, the Cheveley Park mare Heaven Sent (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), is meanwhile having her page brightened up by Firmament (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}). It would be a rash to put a ceiling on the 4-year-old's progress for his new trainer David O'Meara, after narrowly failing to overcome traffic when seeking a hat-trick in a valuable handicap at Ascot on Saturday.

A Milestone And A Signpost…

Runaway winners of both divisions of the fillies' maiden at Salisbury on Thursday should perhaps be assessed with due caution, both having learnt enough on their respective debuts to jump out and control fields of largely green or modest prospects. Nonetheless, both deserve a footnote.

Ten-length scorer Poet's Vanity (GB) (Poet's Voice {GB}) registered a 1,000th success for Andrew Balding, though he will be hoping that she can now proceed to introduce a spark of extra quality to all that quantity. A really top-class horse is still more overdue to the trainer of Argenterie (GB) (Archipenko), who won by a less extravagant margin but in a quicker time. Marcus Tregoning has endured some lean years since winning the 2006 Derby, but Miss Rausing's homebred filly has as plausible a look as any youngster he has introduced for a while. One thing that hasn't changed is Tregoning's habit of starting his nicer types at Goodwood–and Argenterie had shaped nicely when third to a subsequent Group 2 winner at the big meeting there.

Privilege and Pressure…

There is no mistaking the authenticity of the good wishes widely offered to David Wachman following the announcement that he is to quit training. He is plainly a highly personable fellow and his handling of Legatissimo (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) last year permitted no doubt of his professional qualities.

Of course, his status as John Magnier's son-in-law brought burdens as well as benefits: as ever in such situations, plenty of people will have viewed his successes as only to be expected. But nobody should forget that the Coolmore empire was itself founded on the partnership of a father-in-law and son-in-law. As such, nor should we ever fail to take a step back and try to judge all performance fairly on its merits. Though the signs are that Joseph O'Brien will very soon earn due credit as a trainer, for instance, he never received due consensus about his absolutely exceptional talents as a rider. Now that Wachman has abandoned the profession O'Brien Jr has embraced, let's hope he finds corresponding fulfilment in his own next move.