Quiet Reflection: 'It poured down but we didn't care as she destroyed them'

Fans' Favourites is a weekly feature in the Racing Post Weekender in which we talk to those closest to racing's most popular horses and find out why they tug on our heartstrings. This week's subject: Quiet Reflection

The yellow and white silks of Ontoawinner are a familiar sight on racecourses across Britain and associated most with Commonwealth Cup and Sprint Cup heroine Quiet Reflection.

She raised the profile of the syndicate like no other with top-level victories in 2016 and the early vibes were positive from trainer Karl Burke a year earlier after her £44,000 purchase at the Doncaster Breeze-Up sales.

A five-length rout on her debut at Hamilton proved Burke to be spot on and later two-year-old triumphs in the Listed Harry Rosebery Stakes at Ayr and Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes at Newmarket led to a winter of dreams for connections.

Simon Bridge, director of Ontoawinner, says: “She did a piece of work around three weeks before her Hamilton run and Karl called me and said he thought she was above average. He’d only said that to me once before and that was about our Mill Reef winner Toocoolforschool!

“She won nicely there and we thought she’d finish in the first three in the Lowther, but she got squeezed out early on and she never really recovered. We thought she might need six furlongs by the time of the Cornwallis, but her work was getting better and better, and her victory meant we could start dreaming over the winter.”

Prix Sigy and Sandy Lane Stakes wins on Quiet Reflection’s first two starts at three brought a dilemma for Ontoawinner, with some eyewatering offers made for the leading sprinter.

The owners stood firm, went to Royal Ascot and enjoyed a day they will never forget, with Dougie Costello’s mount breezing through the race on the way to a ready length success over Kachy in the three-year-old Group 1 sprint event.

"We were hoping she would be in the first three on her return at Chantilly, she wasn’t fully wound up that day but she battled really hard to win. We came away from there thinking we had a proper filly,” says Bridge.

Dougie Costello celebrates on Quiet Reflection after the Commonwealth Cup in 2016Credit: Edward Whitaker

"We were very confident going to Haydock and her price was wonderful, which all the boys helped themselves to a little bit! We feared the favourite Gifted Master, but she won nicely and we had a few big offers for her after that.

“Thankfully everyone decided it wasn’t the right time to sell. Karl was really bullish about her chance in the Commonwealth Cup and he probably swayed us not to sell at that point, which is always a tricky dilemma for a syndicate.

“Dougie gave her a great ride at Ascot and it was a brilliant day. On a personal level, the biggest thing was the pressure and relief, which was probably why I was a complete tool with my antics after the race!

“I hardly slept for three days before the race, but everything fell into place for her and the owners got the big day they deserved.”

Ten owners were involved in the syndicate for Quiet Reflection, with Burke, Bridge, fellow Ontoawinner founder Niall O’Brien and Hugo Strecker owning shares in the filly, and her Royal Ascot success no doubt raised the profile of Ontoawinner.

He says: “It was a massive winner to help raise Ontoawinner’s profile as Royal Ascot is the biggest stage in the world. We gained a few owners on the back of it, and the amount of congratulatory emails, phone calls and text messages that myself and Niall [O’Brien] received was overwhelming.

“Leading up to the race, we had the Racing Post and other media outlets calling us, attended evenings with Great British Racing, went on Racing TV and At The Races and even had a slot on the BBC on the morning of the race. It was crazy and helped get our name out there, but also helped raise the profile of syndicates in general which was great.”

Quiet Reflection finished third behind Limato in the July Cup at Newmarket on good to firm ground before encountering plenty of ease underfoot in the Sprint Cup at Haydock.

That failed to stop her as she recorded her second Group 1 win with a smooth length-and-three-quarter success over The Tin Man.

Bridge says: “Haydock was just amazing. We very nearly pulled her out as we thought the ground might be too slow for her, so we mulled it over in the morning. There’s only one Sprint Cup, though, and we decided to run her and it was a fantastic day. It poured down all day but we didn’t care as she destroyed them.

“That day was a better experience than Royal Ascot for me as I didn’t feel much pressure at Haydock. She went there as a top-level winner, ran a great race in the July Cup and was the one to beat. It was an enjoyable day.”

Quiet Reflection failed to truly fire at four, suffering a setback after her return at Haydock, winning the Group 3 Renaissance Stakes at Naas in September then finishing ninth in the Sprint on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot on her final start the following month.

The sought-after filly headed to the sales in December with connections experiencing a mix of emotions when she was bought by Coolmore for 2.1 million guineas.

Quiet Reflection with her connections after the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in 2016Credit: Mark Cranham

Bridge says: “It was a horrible feeling to see her go through the ring. She was a fantastic filly and even though we have plenty of horses, it’s difficult not to get attached to them, especially one as special as her. We turned down private offers beforehand and when Marsha went through for six million guineas to Coolmore before us, we had to have a sit down.

“Myself and the partners had a figure in our heads and it was 2.1 million guineas, so it was incredible that was exactly what she made. One million would have been a hell of a lot of money for everyone involved, but she very quickly went up to 1.8 million in the bidding.

“She got up to two million, then Coolmore came in, bid 2.1 million and bought her. The great thing is the team at Coolmore keep me up to speed with what’s happening with her, they send over videos and pictures of her and her offspring, which is fantastic of them and something I’m very grateful for.

“The story continues for her and we’re really looking forward to following her progeny out on the track.”

Ontoawinner are into their tenth year and have a lot to thank Quiet Reflection for. Her exploits will always be cherished by connections.

Bridge says: “We’ve been fortunate enough to have a Group-class two-year-old for the last six years and Quiet Reflection has played a massive part in Ontoawinner’s story. She’s helped with the quality of horses we’ve been able to buy since and we owe her a lot.

“I’ve got quite a few pictures of her around the place and had to take a few down – the missus wasn’t too happy! There were more pictures of her than the family.”

'She had the whole package and a fantastic mind'

Dougie Costello partnered Quiet Reflection to both her Group 1 wins and the jockey recollects his big-race victories on the star mare . . .

Quiet Reflection was a filly of a lifetime and a jockeys’ dream. She could be a little moody in her stables but she was always that girl next door. Her and Jordan Vaughan, who looked after her, had a special relationship and she was always very pleasant when he was around her.

When she won the Prix Sigy in France she was pretty quiet in the parade ring and when I got on her she was jig-joggy and on her toes. She had a great turn of foot and picked up well before idling in the last half furlong, but she’d always battle for you.

She was on her toes before the Sandy Lane at Haydock as well, but she simmered down like a kettle after boiling when I got on her in the paddock. She really relaxed, hacked down to the start, we got a nice bit of cover in the race and she travelled sweetly.

When a gap would come, you would think about taking it and she would already be there. When you asked her to pick up, she would pick up within three strides and go through the gears.

You have that lovely, long straight at Ascot and the best horse tends to win, so I was confident going into the Commonwealth Cup. I had to manoeuvre half a stride to my right when the gap came but she was a well balanced filly and went away from them.

I was 32 at the time but I had a lot of grounding in my time over jumps, so I had been at the big meetings at Cheltenham and Aintree and enjoyed big winners. I was going to Ascot trying to compare it to Cheltenham and Aintree and I didn’t feel the pressure as much as I did for a big race over jumps.

When I pulled up and cantered back in on her, it was like a tunnel in my mind. I came over to Britain when I was 18 and been home about five times, so I’d missed funerals of family relatives and celebrations of my friends, but at that moment it all hit me and it was emotional. It was a reminder of what I’d been through and sacrificed for my career.

An emotional Dougie Costello reacts after winning the Commonwealth Cup on Quiet ReflectionCredit: Harry Trump

It was a fantastic day for the owners, who are a great syndicate, and my daughter Aoife, who was one, and my wife Aimee were there at Ascot.

She ran a big race when third behind Limato on ground quicker than ideal for her in the July Cup at Newmarket then we went to Haydock for the Sprint Cup and I couldn’t see her getting beat. She had the cut in the ground she enjoyed and it was a pretty smooth success.

Her cruising speed was exceptional, riding her was like driving a really nice car and tipping away at 90mph and not feeling like you’re going that fast. The rest of the jockeys would start race-riding from the three-furlong pole, you would follow a horse to take you further into the race then once you found a gap she’d be right there.

She had the whole package and a fantastic mind. She wouldn’t have had her speed if she was keen, but she settled beautifully with a bit of cover. The mind is the key for all the great horses.

It was unbelievable to be involved in her story and I can’t thank Karl Burke and his family, Jordan and the owners Ontoawinner enough for giving me the opportunity to ride at that level.

It was a dream come true and I have pictures of her in the house. I’d been around in big races on Midnight Chase for Neil Mulholland, who I’ve known since the age of 12, was attached with John Quinn and rode so many nice horses like Countrywide Flame, Crow Wood and Kings Quay, but my success on Quiet Reflection had a slightly different meaning on a personal level having switched codes.

People make a lot out of jockeys switching from the jumps to the Flat but when you strip everything back it’s not really that much different – it’s a horse with four legs and a tail in a field. All jockeys have been doing it since they were six years of age and I can remember galloping around a field thinking I was Charlie Swan or Richard Dunwoody when I was that age.

Whether there’s eight flights of hurdles or a straight track, it’s pretty much the same thing and you’re only as good as the horse you’re riding – and Quiet Reflection was special.

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