There was a notable British hat-trick at Naas on Sunday when Yorkshire-based trainer Karl Burke led the way with a Group Three double, highlighted by a sparkling return to winning form from Quiet Reflection.
Last year's Commonwealth Cup and Haydock Sprint Cup heroine tested Burke's patience through the summer, but Sunday's 5-2 winner is now on course to take on Harry Angel in next month's Champion Sprint at Ascot after impressively landing the Renaissance Stakes.
“We’ve had to take our time and hopefully she comes out of this well. Roll on four weeks for Ascot – if the ground comes up soft she will give Harry Angel a race,” said Burke.
The trainer had earlier provided Colm O’Donoghue with the first leg of his own double when the 10-1 Ellthea decisively beat some smart local juveniles in the CL & MF Weld Park Stakes.
Called off
Ellthea had originally been targeted at Saturday’s Firth Of Clyde Stakes at Ayr, but that meeting was called off and the switch across the Irish Sea paid off in style.
“We were thinking if she nicked a bit of black type we would probably pack her in for the year. But Colm said she did that pretty easily and was a bit lonely in front. So we might look for something else,” Burke reported.
Paul Midgley dominated the €50,000 Premier Handicap as the ex-Willie McCreery trained Tylery Wonder beat his shorter-priced stable companion Monsieur Joe by a length and a half.
“It’s a nice surprise, to be honest, as I thought the ground would be too slow for him,” Midgley said of the winner. “He got a length out of the gate and never really looked like he was going to get beat.”
O’Donoghue completed his double aboard Jessica Harrington’s Pincheck who justified 100-30 favouritism in the final mile handicap.
