Martin Hughes

The dual Group 1 winner Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) is the first stallion to retire to Steve Parkin's Dullingham Park near Newmarket.  The top-rated sprinter in Europe this year, Shaquille was trained by Julie Camacho to win the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot before defeating his elders in the July Cup at Newmarket. The 3-year-old was co-bred by his owner Martin Hughes, who paid tribute to the retiring star, saying, "It was an honour to be associated with such a brilliant horse. To breed him and to race him...

It may have started more by necessity than by desire, but Martin Hughes has now hit the heights that most small breeders can only dream of with his sprinting sensation, Shaquille (GB). A year ago this week, the son of the treble Group 1-winning miler Charm Spirit (Ire) made a winning debut at York. In the ensuing 12 months, he has taken Hughes, who bred Shaquille with Michael Kerr-Dineen, and his friends in the partnership on quite a ride, often with heart in mouth, but on all bar two occasions...

There have been many super-sprinters that have won Newmarket's G1 July Cup, but probably none that have managed to do as much wrong as Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}-Magic {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) as he placed himself among the very best in Saturday's renewal. Up in the air as the stalls opened and slowly away again as he had been in Royal Ascot's G1 Commonwealth Cup, Julie Camacho and Steve Brown's freakishly-talented 3-year-old was quickly telling Rossa Ryan that he wanted to assume top dog status. Lesser mortals would have...

To do everything wrong and still win the G1 Commonwealth Cup comfortably, Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}--Magic {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) must be among an elite brigade of sprinters to have come to Royal Ascot down the years. Although the pride of the Julie Camacho and Steve Brown stable had obvious credentials entering Friday's six-furlong feature, after blowing the start and losing several lengths all appeared lost. That was factoring against the abundance of talent Martin Hughes's homebred possesses and the calm of Oisin Murphy after he had asked for...