Julie Camacho has provided a positive update on how her former stable star Shaquille has settled in at stud, leaving his new handlers “pleasantly surprised” by his friendly manner.

Shaquille rose through the sprinting ranks to claim Group One glory in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and Newmarket’s July Cup, overcoming tardy starts in impressive fashion.

He is now standing at Dullingham Park and is proving popular with broodmare owners ahead of the new mating season.

“I know I’m biased but he is a lovely horse,” said Camacho. “He’s a good-looking horse, he’s got a lovely walk on him, but they weren’t quite expecting that from him.

“I think they have been pleasantly surprised with his temperament as well. I think they were all expecting him to be a bit of a nutter, but he’s not and they’ve found out at Dullingham what a lovely person he is.”

Camacho got off the mark for 2024 with well-backed Newcastle winner Dingle, who fittingly carries the purple and white colours of Martin Hughes, just as Shaquille did.

“It’s nice to get going,” added Camacho on Sky Sports Racing. “The horses have been running well but we’ve just been hitting the goalposts rather than the back of the net, but he’s a grand horse is Dingle.

“He’s just moved into Shaquille’s old box and whereas Shaquille was a lovely person, he’s grumpy when I go in to see him in the morning – but you don’t mind when he does that.”

After a quiet winter, Camacho is looking forward to building her Malton string back up.

She said: “We’ve got a few on the go and the other horses will start coming back in.

“We’ll have maybe a dozen two-year-olds, most of them are still in pre-training, including a few we’ve bred ourselves – maybe there will be another Shaquille, we can hope at this stage!”

It has been a stellar year that will live long in the memory of Julie Camacho, as Shaquille’s seismic rise to sprinting stardom catapulted the Yorkshire handler to the top of the sport.

The Star Cottage operation has always been respected when it comes to handling speedsters, Judicial’s longevity was the proof in that particular pudding.

However, in Shaquille, luck had brought a rare diamond to Camacho’s door and over the course of 2023, her team honed that burgeoning talent to perfection.

Little under two miles away from where John Quinn prepared Highfield Princess to thrive in 2022, the Malton air proved ripe for propelling another fledgling speedster to the highest level, as Shaquille went from unheralded handicapper to Group One superstar.

“Shaquille was wonderful and it culminated in the two Group Ones, which were obviously unexpected when you are starting a horse off in a handicap at the Guineas meeting,” said Camacho’s husband and assistant Steve Brown.

“It’s all been a bit of a blur and when it is not as busy and we are on holiday, we might sit down and reflect on what a fantastic year we’ve had.

“At the time, it’s on to the next day and you have got to be concerned about all of your horses, it’s just another day on the treadmill really.

“It’s been beyond our wildest dreams really and has moved our yard to another level. Obviously, there were other good results, like Significantly winning the Ayr Gold Cup, and it has been a wonderful year and we don’t really want it to end.”

It is fair to say that Shaquille had his own style of getting from A to B, often leaving connections and punters sweating at various points in a contest, but when the winning post approached, his athletic prowess would come to the fore and he was always at the peak of his powers when it mattered most.

“He’s a horse who is a little bit unconventional in his running style and at times has made life that little bit harder for himself, but ultimately everything stops with the result and the results were positive and there were some great days,” continued Brown.

“I think he is a really gifted athlete and time proved that. I think he has great capacity and a great ability to maintain his speed.

“Often, horses show speed for a certain amount of the race and then gradually wither away – but he could maintain his speed and I think he is a horse of great athletic ability, which he showed for most of his career.

“He was unconventional but very effective. We all love a maverick in life and I think he had a touch of that about him, but he certainly had plenty of brilliance on his day.”

Despite winning three of his four two-year-old starts, there were few clues to suggest that over the next 12 months, Shaquille would develop into one of the season’s leading performers.

His three-year-old campaign got off to the worst possible start when withdrawn at the start on All-Weather Championship Finals Day, but once dominating a field of useful handicappers at Newmarket’s Guineas meeting, the momentum began to build and build before reaching a Group One crescendo during the height of summer.

“His rate of progression was unbelievable really and he stepped up to Listed and then to the Group Ones and he proved himself to be a very good horse and we really enjoyed the ride,” said Brown.

“When he won three of his four two-year-old races, he always looked very good but not to the level that we ended up racing at, we thought he would just be what you would call a ‘nice horse’ level, not a Group One horse.

“He did catch us by surprise, but the one thing I have always said was when he would come back in after he won, he never came in tired, he was always a fresh horse afterwards.

“He always galloped out well after his races and you always felt there was more there, but at what level, we weren’t sure. It’s lovely when you can just progress a horse quietly through the grades with no pressure.”

There was soon no hiding place for Shaquille, as victory in Newbury’s Carnarvon Stakes left connections with little option but to take a shot at the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

Even so, Camacho and Brown were still refusing to feel the pressure, as they set about enjoying rubbing shoulders with the best.

That laid-back approach seemed to be inherited by Shaquille himself, as he reared and then sat dozily in the stalls as the best three-year-old sprinters were already making their way up the Ascot straight.

Eventually getting into stride under Oisin Murphy, he worked his way back into the contest before his raw power took him past Aidan O’Brien’s big-race fancy Little Big Bear in the closing stages.

“He went from his novices to a handicap, to a Listed and then the programme book forced you up to Group One and we sort of thought it was worth a go,” explained Brown.

“We went to Ascot feeling no pressure, because the Coolmore horse was a hotpot and we just thought we would go and have a lovely time – and if he ran well, we would be delighted. Of course, it was such a great day, to win it was wonderful.”

He went on: “It was a totally different feeling to the July Cup, because then you had expectation, whereas we were pretty cool at Royal Ascot and thought if we hit the frame, then everyone has had a great day out and we’ll go home still having a progressive horse.”

With a first Group One in the bank and a day to remember etched into the memory, the pressure Camacho and co declined to feel heading into Ascot suddenly weighed massively on their shoulders as Shaquille was tasked with backing up his impressive Commonwealth Cup in Newmarket’s July Cup.

He was sent of the 5-2 joint-favourite alongside his Ascot rival Little Big Bear and, while the Coolmore charge sank under the weight of expectation, the son of Charm Spirit grew in stature to deliver an utterly devastating display.

Again, Shaquille gave his rivals a glimmer of hope and all associated with him palpitations by rearing at the start and exiting the stalls in his own time.

However, whereas at Ascot he worked his way gradually into contention, this time around the colt carted his substitute rider Rossa Ryan to the head of proceedings and never let up as he galloped out to back-to-back big-race triumphs.

“Newmarket obviously came with pressure, but you also had the realisation that this can be achieved,” continued Brown.

“You have suddenly got a very good horse and it was sort of ‘why can’t we think we can go and win the July Cup’ – and fortunately he did.”

There was a sting to the tail in the Shaquille story, as he was unable to back up his Ascot and Newmarket heroics when bidding for a third Group One triumph in Haydock’s Sprint Cup.

It was the final time the champion sprinter was seen on a racecourse before heading off into retirement and stallion duties at Dullingham Park Stud, with that Merseyside flop the only black mark on his phenomenal journey to the top of the sprinting tree.

“We still never found a satisfactory explanation for that,” added Brown.

“The horses weren’t in good form and I suppose that is the most plausible reason, but I have it in the back of my mind that he put so much into Ascot and Newmarket and did that just have an effect on him on that day at Haydock.

“We will never know unfortunately, and the only shame is his career ended on a bit of a low, as the rest of it was magical.”

Ayr Gold Cup winner Significantly is likely to sidestep a rise in grade at Ascot this weekend and instead wait for the Coral Sprint Trophy at York on Saturday week.

Revitalised by the Julie Camacho team, Significantly was agonisingly beaten in the Portland Handicap over five and a half furlongs at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting, but gained compensation seven days later at Ayr.

He almost missed out again there with Joe Fanning looking for a run with a furlong to go, but when the gap came he quickened up smartly.

While connections were tempted by a crack at the John Guest Racing Bengough Stakes, the fact he would be getting only 3lb from the likes of 113-rated Commanche Falls and the 110-rated Garrus leaves Significantly, still only on a handicap mark of 98, with plenty to find.

“He’s fit and well but I would imagine that unless the race cuts up badly, we’d wait a week and go to York,” said Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant.

“It just makes more sense to run in a handicap off his current mark. There are some good solid performers in at Ascot. We were entitled to enter and have a look but realistically we might just wait a week – and it’s worth more money.

“The other thing we might have been tempted to go to Ascot had the ground been softer but at the minute it looks like being a decent week weather-wise whereas he thrives when the ground is softer.

“I know there were one or two unlucky horses at Ayr but I think if we’d have got a run earlier he would have been a bit more of a clear-cut winner than he was.

“He’s thriving at home, his confidence levels are high. Karl (Burke, former trainer) always said he had a high level of ability and was a decent horse when he was younger, they are clever people and ran him in some big races, they don’t do that unless they think they are worthy.

“Last season was a quiet one for him, as any horse can havem but I think he’s back to the level he showed for Karl.”

Julie Camacho’s Significantly overcame a troubled passage to take a big pot in the Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup Handicap.

The gelding was rolling the dice again after just missing out on the Portland Handicap at the St Leger meeting exactly a week ago.

The race was a return to six furlongs and at several points it seemed that luck had deserted him once again as his progress was abruptly stopped by other horses in the 24-runner handicap.

He was brought almost to a halt as another horse crossed his path in the final furlong, but showed great tenacity under Joe Fanning to renew his attack and lunge at the line to win by a neck from Ramazan and justify 8-1 favouritism.

Julie Camacho’s Significantly will bid bounce back from a narrow Doncaster defeat last week as he heads further north for the Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup Handicap.

The five-year-old was a 12-1 shot for the five-and-a-half-furlong Portland Handicap at the St Leger meeting and very nearly made light of those odds when just missing out on first place by a short head.

Connections report he is ready to go again and he will return to six furlongs for the valuable Gold Cup, a big field handicap worth over £90,000 to the winner.

“When you come as close as Significantly did last week, you always have the disappointment that the result didn’t go your way but pride in the performance,” said Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant.

“We’ve seen no reason at home not to run him again and going back up to six furlongs should suit.”

Karl Burke has a pair of runners in Fast Response and Lethal Levi, with the first-named contender likely to relish the conditions as autumn rain has left the ground on the easy side.

The trainer said: “Fast Response loves soft ground, she’s a Listed winner and a good quality filly. She should run very well.”

Of Lethal Levi, who was fourth at Doncaster last week, Burke added: “Lethal Levi probably wouldn’t want too much more rain and wears a visor for the first time.

“He hasn’t really gone on as I hoped he would this year, but he’s a fair horse and ran pretty well at Doncaster last week, so we’re hoping for another big run.”

Kevin Ryan has a superb record with six past successes in the race and will saddle a trio of contenders in Aleezdancer, Bielsa and Magical Spirit.

Bielsa won the contest in 2021 and Magical Spirit is well proven over course and distance after winning the Ayr Silver Cup in 2020 and finishing fourth in the same race the following year.

The chestnut is owned by Hambleton Racing, whose director of racing Simon Turner said: “He’s in great form at home, he worked well earlier in the week and the ground should be ideal for him, so we’re hoping for a big run.”

Magical Spirit has a wide draw in stall 18, something Turner is fairly neutral about as handicaps with large fields can gravitate to either rail or into several groups.

“I have an open mind on the draw until we see how some of the big-field races pan out before then,” he added.

“We’ve had instances in the past where we thought we were on the wrong side at Royal Ascot but we stuck to our guns and had the winner.

“You convince yourself that one place is the place to be, but we’ll go in a straight line from where we are and hope we’re on a fair part of the track.

“He’s been in great form through the year, he’s run some smashing races and he’s run twice in the Silver Cup at Ayr and won it and finished fourth.

“He’s got solid form over course and distance in this type of race and he’s been targeted at this for some time. He’ll be one of the outsiders but we know he’s well capable of winning a big race.”

Charlie Hills’ Orazio is among the leading fancies, with David O’Meara’s Summerghand the returning champion after a one-length victory last season.

The line up also features other O’Meara-trained sprint handicap regulars such as Aberama Gold and Escobar, with further familiar names including David Evans’ Rohaan and John Quinn’s Mr Waygu.

One final foray on home soil this season remains a possibility for Shaquille with connections leaving the door open for a tilt at the Qipco British Champions Sprint at Ascot next month.

Julie Camacho’s three-year-old was brilliant in winning his first four starts of the season, including back-to-back Group One victories in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and Newmarket’s July Cup.

He was a hot favourite to make it a top-level hat-trick in the Sprint Cup at Haydock on his latest outing, but while there was no repeat of the slow starts he suffered in his previous two races, he faded out of contention after making the running to finish last of 16 runners.

While no immediate excuse came to light, aside from poor stable form, Camacho’s husband and assistant Steve Brown reports the three-year-old to be in good shape after returning to work and a Champions Day appearance remains on the table.

“I wouldn’t say there’s been anything obvious, there’s been one or two small things we’re still investigating but at home he seems well in himself,” he said.

“We were only ever going to Ascot anyway after Haydock, certainly domestically. He’s just returned to cantering and we’ll see how he is in the next fortnight.

“I hope we can (get to Ascot), I think that’s what Martin (Hughes, part-owner) would like, but it’s one we’ll have to sit down with Martin about and just see how the horse is nearer the time.”

The Camacho team managed only one winner from 43 runners in August and September so far has yielded a solitary success.

However, there were shoots of recovery last weekend, with Significantly beaten a short head in the valuable Portland Handicap at Doncaster, while Raatea and Winged Messenger were also placed, on Town Moor and at Chester respectively.

Brown, who confirmed Significantly could make a quick reappearance in the Ayr Gold Cup on Saturday, added: “They seem to be turning a corner slowly.

“It’s been a frustrating time, but we’ve seen it before and unfortunately we’ll see it again. It’s the nature of the game we’re in, so we’re quite calm about it.

“On the whole last weekend we were quite happy with how they ran, one or two got stuck in the ground but we felt that was more of a reason than anything else.

“We’ve taken all the advice we’ve been given and hopefully the flood will come!”