Commonwealth Cup: Shaquille swoops in remarkable triumph

Shaquille produced a remarkable performance to provide Julie Camacho with her first winner at Royal Ascot in the Commonwealth Cup.

The three-year-old arrived on the crest of a wave having won his last four races but all hope looked to have gone when he reared up on leaving the stalls.

Three-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy did not panic though, and by halfway he was back in contention but it remained to be seen if his early exertions had taken their toll.

The hot favourite Little Big Bear hit the front on entering the final furlong but Shaquille (9-1) was creeping into it and when Murphy asked for everything, there was still plenty left.

Camacho, and her partner Steve Brown, were registering their first Group One victory as Shaquille came home a length and a quarter clear, with 66-1 shot Swingalong in third.

"I was very nervous, feeling a bit sick," said Camacho on how she was feeling shortly before the big race - and just moments before Shaquille dramatically fluffed the start.

"I thought 'that's it,' he's blown his chance to be honest," the trainer told ITV. "He was good, wasn't he?

"We never thought we'd train a Group One winner - not at Royal Ascot, anyway."

Brown admitted he thought Shaquille’s tardy start would prove costly, but praised Murphy’s patient ride.

He said: “I’m just thrilled, he missed the start by so many lengths and I thought that could be it. It actually suited him, he settled better and Oisin was patient and brought him through stylishly I thought.

“What a lovely performance, he keeps finding a bit so it’s serious stuff now. He’s probably and a six-and-a-half furlong horse, which is perfect for here.

“He just relaxed and raced in a rhythm but all of that was far from the plan! It worked out well in the end.”

Murphy also felt Shaquille’s chance had gone after giving his rivals a head start.

He said: “(When we broke from the stalls) I was thinking maybe that was the race over. He behaved in there, I had Craig Witherford to help and just as the starter let the stalls open, he went into the air and took his time coming back to the ground, and it’s very hard to do that in a six-furlong race and win.

“I got to the back of Ryan (Moore, on Little Big Bear) quite easily, without having to fully go for him. I had to sustain an effort from quite a long way out, so it really was a tremendous task that he managed to overcome.”

This was a notable Royal Ascot winner for Murphy - the rider's 11th in total but the first on his comeback in the saddle and he was full of praise for his willing partner.

"He's a top, top-class animal," Murphy added to ITV.

"It's very hard to win any race doing what he did, and to do it in a Group One and beat the likes of Little Big Bear is an astounding performance."

Murphy was taking over from James Doyle, who had ridden Shaquille in his last two starts but was committed to the unplaced Noble Style this time.

He added: “I feel sorry for James Doyle, this would have been his mount today and we are best of friends, so I owe him one.

“Going to the start and everything was important. James said to trust him (Shaquille), that he would give you the feeling that he might run off, but in fact actually he was very well behaved when I did give him his head.

“He’s a very well bred horse, by Charm Spirit and out of a Galileo mare, and he’s quite lightly raced, so it was great to get on him today and thank you very much to the connections.”

Murphy was riding his first winner at this year’s Royal Ascot, having missed last year when he was serving a 14-month suspension.

Asked what it meant to get on the scoresheet, he said: “Sheikh Fahad (of Murphy’s retained owner Qatar Racing) will be delighted because I’ve hit the crossbar a couple of times this week and to win a Group One is a fantastic feeling.”

Aidan O’Brien offered no excuses for his Commonwealth Cup runner-up Little Big Bear.

Sent off one of the shortest-priced favourites of the week at odds of 10-11, he grabbed the lead entering the final furlong but was run down late by Julie Camacho’s improver.

Little Big Bear was last year’s champion juvenile but, having finished last when tried over a mile in the 2000 Guineas first time out, he seems set to stick to sprinting for the time being with O’Brien eyeing a possible rematch with the winner in the July Cup.

The Ballydoyle handler said: “He ran very well. Ryan (Moore) was delighted with the run. It was a very good run. He just got beaten by a better horse on the day.

“I don’t know where he’ll go. It could be the July Cup or something like that. It was only his second sprint, so we’ll see.

“I think the winner missed the break, but he usually makes the running. I think he’s an out-and-out sprinter, so we will train him for the July Cup.”

Karl Burke’s Swingalong was third at 66-1, a return to the form she showed as a juvenile.

“It was a great run. Delighted she got that Group One placing – it is so important for a filly,” Burke said.

“She was a Lowther winner and she’s a good filly. She wasn’t right in France (when last in the French 1000 Guineas) and would not have won at any trip in France, although she didn’t stay the mile. I don’t know what went wrong there.

“After that we gave her plenty of time to come back and we were always targeting this. I said to the guys that I could see her running a big race and be third or fourth and that’s what she has done, so we’re delighted.

“We are thinking more Prix Maurice de Gheest than July Cup. She was not stopping and was third over seven (furlongs) first time out in the Guineas trial and she stayed that well. I think six and a half will be very nice for her.”

Roger Varian was at a loss to explain Sakheer’s lacklustre run after his high-class colt could only finish last of the 13 runners.

“It’s mystifying at the moment and we’re obviously all very disappointed,” Varian told ITV Racing.

“He was a bit slow from the gates, he travelled well through halfway and David (Egan) was happy, he took a peek to the other side to see how they were going.

“But then he very quickly emptied out and his stride shortened when he let him down.

“His initial reaction was that the ground felt too firm and he didn’t let himself down.

“He pulled up sound and looks fine, we’ll carry out all the usual post-race checks. At the moment we are scratching our heads but something might come to light. Obviously it wasn’t his true form.”