Yorkshire favourite Quiet Reflection on verge of Ascot return

Karl Burke: She honestly looks the best I have seen her this year.

The four-year-old, who was a sensational winner of both the Commonwealth Cup and Haydock Sprint Cup last term, has endured a troubled campaign in 2017, with just one unplaced effort this year.

Quiet Reflection, the reigning Yorkshire horse of the year, is reported to be firmly on the comeback trail and Leyburn-based Burke is weighing up options.

He said: “I am really pleased with her. She started cantering this week and she honestly looks the best I have seen her this year.

“We’ve got four weeks until Haydock and I’d like to run her there, but if the ground was good or quicker we might look for something else between then and the British Champions Sprint, or head straight there.

“She’s been walking and trotting for a while and her overall level of fitness is pretty good. She’s a dual Group One winner who has shown before what she can do at the top level.”

Quiet Reflection is one of the headline names entered for the Qipco-sponsored event on October 21, with Diamond Jubilee Stakes victor The Tin Man poised to defend the title he won last year.

Richard Fahey has blamed himself for champion miler Ribchester’s shock defeat to the previously unheralded Here Comes When in last week’s Sussex Stakes at a rain-sodden Goodwood.

The Malton trainer was speaking after confirming that the triple Group One winner will skip Sunday’s possible engagement in the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville.

The primary target will be the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot’s Champions Day meeting in October over the straight mile where the Godolphin-owned horse won the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal meeting in June.

In doing so, Fahey ruled out the possibility of stepping his champion up in trip to 10 furlongs for the Champion Stakes. “We’re going to stick at a mile with him for the time being. Quite what happened at Goodwood I’m still not sure, but I suspect it was a mistake to try to make the running.

Mark Johnston’s stable star Permian will bid to win an elusive Group One race when lining up in Saturday night’s Secretariat Stakes at Arlington.

The Middleham horse is already in America, with William Buick booked to fly to Chicago to partner the colt.

Champion jockey-elect Silvestre de Sousa brought up his century of winners at Brighton yesterday.