By former Windsor Park Stud shuttler Charm Spirit, talented three year-old colt Shaquille backed up from his win in the Group I Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot last month to claim his second G1 win when taking out the Group I Darley July Cup (6f) at Newmarket overnight, wonder if his connections have heard of The Everest!
Taking on older sprinters this time, the Julie Camacho and Steve Brown trained colt again overcame a poor start to surge clear and win by a length with Rossa Ryan on board.
Shaquille has seven wins from eight starts and Rossa Ryan was full of praise for the colt, who has built an impressive record.
“To do what he did in that fashion – to come on the bridle two furlongs out having run like he did – I can’t believe it,” Ryan said.
“After he missed the break, I didn’t want to set him alight so I sat for a minute as they hadn’t gone too far away from me.
“I had no option but to go with him in the middle of the race. I was on the heels of the horses behind Ryan [Moore] and William [Buick] and I thought to myself ‘I can’t go this slow any more’, so I pulled him out and he was gone.
“I felt him take a blow at the three marker and could feel him filling up his lungs to go again. James and Oisin filled me with confidence for this as James said his last two furlongs are his best, but it’s still a massive effort. What he’s done is a huge credit to the Camacho team.”
Shaquille is a star on the rise in the sprinting division.
“Today was the first day it felt a bit different with him,” Steve Brown said. “I could hear people when we were walking around the paddock talking about him and saying how they had come just to see him. That is a special thing when people have paid their money to come along and see your horse.
“I thought he did it all wrong today. Oisin was quiet on him at Ascot, whereas Rossa got him closer to the pace and I was sure he was doing too much. To pick up and win from there like he did – he’s some athlete. We're still trying to get it right with him – but the end result looks good, doesn’t it?”
Shaquille was retained to race by his breeder Martin Hughes and is the first winner for unraced Galileo mare Magic, a sister to stakes-winner Birch Grove from fast Group II winning sprinter Danehurst.
Shaquille is the first Group I winner among 16 stakes-winners by Charm Spirit, a Group I winning son of Invincible Spirit that now stands in France at Haras du Logis Saint Germain for 5,000 euros
