Commonwealth Cup: No silencing Quiet Reflection

Quiet Reflection landed a first domestic Group 1 win for her trainer Karl Burke and was also a first top-level winner for her rider, former jump jockey Dougie Costello.

The 7/4 favourite was always going strongly off the pace which was disputed for much of the way by Log Out Island and Kachy. It was the latter who lasted the longer of that pair in front, though he began to veer badly left over a furlong out which briefly opened the door to last year's Windsor Castle Stakes winner Washington DC. However, Quiet Reflection responded well when asked to pick up the leaders and was driven ahead in the closing stages.

14/1-shot Kachy managed to hang on for second a length behind the winner, with Washington DC at 8/1 another half-length back in third. 

"I am absolutely delighted," said Burke. "It is a big relief as well because you see all your contemporaries and lads you grew up with - Richard Fahey and Kevin Ryan among others - all having winners at the big meetings. You are itching to have one and we have had a few near misses, so it is great to get there. Quiet Reflection is a very good filly. It was not the plan to be stuck in the middle like that and I was praying we didn't get a rough race. When she comes through she has a great turn of foot and it has got her out of trouble again today. I bought her at the breeze-ups and the lads at Ontoawinner were there and took half straight away. Elaine and my eldest daughter Kelly would not let me keep the other half so I sold 35 per cent to Hubert Strecker. I was determined to keep a piece because we have always thought a bit of her. She's run some amazing races in her time. She won a couple of Group races last year but to come here and win this race at Royal Ascot - it'll take some beating. I haven't seen the replay but it wasn't the plan to be stuck in the middle like that. My biggest fear is that we'd be in a barging match - she's not a huge filly so I said to Dougie to keep it simple. As it happens, we were stuck in the middle but the runner-up running across the track opened it up a little and she used that turn of foot to great effect.

"It's gone well but we've got a great team behind us at home and you can't do it without the horses. I only came down yesterday and when you see the likes of Michael Dods' horse getting beat (Mecca's Angel who was beaten favourite in the King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday), it must be a horrible feeling to go there with a strongly fancied horse and it get beaten. You just hope and pray that you've done your job properly - especially when horses are travelling away. I'm a big believer in looking at them in the morning and when I saw her first thing, I was comfortable. She's in the July Cup but whether that would be the right thing to do, I'm not so sure. The ground would be dependant there as I wouldn't want to see her running on those sort of undulations on firm ground. She's been on the go a long time. She started her prep before Christmas so maybe the right thing to do would be to give her a break, come back to Haydock for the Sprint Cup and then back for Champions Day here."

Simon Bridge, who runs the Ontoawinner syndicate alongside his business partner Niall O'Brien, could hardly contain his excitement immediately after the race.

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Bridge. "Incredible! What can you say? Group One winner! This filly has been pretty impressive from day one to be fair. You think you've got something that might be ok sometimes! Karl said after she'd done a piece of work that she might be above average - I think she's just proved that she is today! I'm delighted. There are 10 people who own this particular filly. We've go 42 horses in total with various trainers - we've just grown and grown over the last five years."

"I haven't slept for a week thinking it could happen," said O'Brien. "You don't allow yourself to think you can. For an operation like ours - we've only been going five years - it's amazing. When Simon and myself first dreamed this up, we'd had horses before and I thought it was mad to do syndicates again - they're too much hassle. We've got some fantastic owners though. It's richly deserved. To come here with a syndicate horse having paid only £45,000, it's unbelievable. Taking on the best owners in the world as well - all the owners deserve this moment."

Wiping away a tear, Dougie Costello said: "Emotion took over a little bit! Karl has put me in this position and given me this opportunity. It's been a long road. This feels like the icing on top of the cake.

"I was very confident [about her chances] - but the more I looked at the paper, the more I was finding excuses for other horses beating us. The rain got in; there was a bit of spring in your step after walking the course this morning but after watching the first two races it was definitely deader and I thought that would blunt her speed, and I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to be a tactically run race. We went a nice even pace; she's such an honest filly, she jumps; she'll go anywhere for you, she switches off.

"She probably didn't pick up as well on the ground today but courage and class has pulled her through she probably hasn't picked up to her full potential today, so for from hereon in it is going to be exciting with her. There might be a few more tears somewhere along the line!"

Asked how difficult it was to adapt from Jump racing to the Flat, Costello replied: "I've been quite lucky; I've been involved with a few dual-purpose yards over the years and I owe Mr [John] Quinn a lot as well [Costello won the JCB Triumph Hurdle at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival aboard Countrywide Flame for Quinn]. I wouldn't be here without him."

He continued: "It's unbelievable. I wouldn't be in this situation without Karl. This filly is one of a kind and you haven't seen her full potential today. I am just unbelievably lucky. There are plenty of good jockeys without the opportunity [to do something like this]. Karl asked me at the Arc meeting last year [to ride for him]. Some things are too good to be true, but when I started working with Karl I could tell we were singing from the same hymn sheet and it could be true."