Adam Houghton chats to Malton-based trainers John Quinn and Julie Camacho to get the latest on their respective stars in the sprinting ranks, Highfield Princess and Shaquille.
The North is gearing up for its four biggest days of the Flat racing summer next week when York’s Ebor Festival takes centre stage, a celebration of equine brilliance as the stars come from far and wide to thrill the Yorkshire crowds.
But that’s not to say there hasn’t been plenty to celebrate in these parts already this year.
Wednesday’s Juddmonte International favourite Paddington might have been the story of the season so far, but the people up North love nothing more than a local hero and we’ve been blessed with two of those over the last 12 months, two horses who are trained on the same Malton gallops, located less than 25 miles from the Knavesmire.
In one corner you have the six-year-old mare Highfield Princess, who proved a total revelation for the John Quinn yard in 2022 when rattling off a Group 1 hat-trick. The middle leg came when she delighted the locals with a blistering victory in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York, the crown she’ll be back to defend next week.
More on that shortly, but it’s not just Highfield Princess’ name that they’ve been singing in the Malton pubs in the recent weeks and months. Now she’s forced to share top billing with the three-year-old Shaquille, the rising star of the sprinting scene following his wins in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and July Cup at Newmarket for the Julie Camacho team.
Between them Highfield Princess and Shaquille can lay down a genuine claim to the titles of best five-furlong sprinter and best six-furlong sprinter in Europe. Neither horse is finished yet, either, and both have Group 1 assignments on the horizon and the opportunity to underline their superiority over the others in their respective divisions.
Already a best-priced 7/4 in the ante-post betting for the Nunthorpe, nothing less than victory will do for Highfield Princess and Quinn is relishing the challenge after his star mare got off the mark for the season with a straightforward win in the King George Stakes at Goodwood last time.
“We’ve been very happy with her since Goodwood,” Quinn said before taking a moment to reflect on that success on the Sussex Downs. “We were absolutely delighted with the way she won there. There are no gimmes in this game. It looked very winnable on paper, but you’ve got to go and do it.
“We thought she was the best she’d been this season going into Goodwood. We were pleased she confirmed that on the track and we’ve just kept her ticking over since.
“You get confidence when you win and we were delighted to win. It’s a boost to the confidence of the mare and everybody associated with her. We’re looking forward to York. To win the Nunthorpe once was wonderful, but if she could win it again it would be absolutely fantastic.”
Shaquille rise still sinking in
Highfield Princess is now firmly established at the top level – the Nunthorpe will be her ninth start in Group 1 company – and it’s given Quinn time to take stock of everything she’s done over the last three years, from being beaten in her first handicap from a BHA mark of 57 to being widely recognised as one of the fastest horses on the planet.
Camacho, on the other hand, confessed that she’s still having a hard time processing what Shaquille has achieved so far this season, with his Group 1 wins at Royal Ascot and Newmarket – the first in a training career spanning around 25 years – coming as a surprise to her as much as anyone.
“I’m not sure you could put it into words really,” Camacho began. “He’s been an absolute revelation. If you’d told me at Newcastle [when Shaquille refused to enter the stalls on All-Weather Finals Day], ‘don’t worry because he’s going to win two Group 1s’, I’d have said ‘yeah right, what asylum have you come from?!’.
“It’s been a great ride and we’ve been very lucky to have him. To have had him since he was a foal as well makes it even more special.
“I don’t think what he’s done will really sink in until we finish the season, because you’re that busy with other horses, going racing and all the day-to-day jobs. I don’t think it will sink in until we have a quieter time in the winter.”
Before then, Shaquille has the small matter of the Sprint Cup at Haydock (September 9) in which he’ll try to emulate Highfield Princess’ feat from last year with a third straight Group 1 win.
Of course, his connections did have the option of supplementing him for the Nunthorpe to tee up a mouth-watering clash between the two local champions on the Knavesmire, but Camacho revealed that it wasn’t really something they’d seriously considered.
She explained: “We just felt that if we were going to drop him back to five furlongs – which he probably has enough speed for – York probably wasn’t the place to do it, because it’s such a fast five.
“He’s won twice at York, but that was over seven and six. You’re taking on hardened sprinters and a different calibre of horse in the Nunthorpe. I think if you were going to do it, you’d do it at a stiffer five-furlong track somewhere.”
Crucial stalls work on the cards
The Nunthorpe might be off the table, but Shaquille will be faced with a set of starting stalls at some stage next week, albeit it won’t be in a competitive environment.
Having been slowly away in both his Group 1 wins, he’s reportedly set for a date with Craig Witherford and Jake Launchbury – who specialise in helping horses overcome their issues in the stalls – when they’re in the area for the Ebor Festival.
That duo is already familiar with the son of Charm Spirit having worked with him after he refused to enter the stalls at Newcastle on All-Weather Finals Day back in April. That race had been a long-term target and Camacho is reluctant to think too far beyond Haydock with a horse who has been in training for much of the year after winning three of his four starts as a two-year-old.
She summed up: “It’s been a long year for him because he ran at Wolverhampton in December. It was a fast-track qualifier for All-Weather Finals Day which was a disaster. He was in training for that, so he’s been in a long time.
“But he seems in good form and he’s probably a bit different to most colts in training because he gets turned out every day as well which gives him a bit of downtime. That helps a little bit with him.
“The Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot (October 21) is definitely in our thinking for later in the year, although I’m not sure we’d want it to come up a bog. We’d have to play it by ear and see how he comes out of Haydock.”
Four more runs and out for Highfield Princess?
As for Highfield Princess, she was kept busy during the second half of last season and it seems sure to be a similar story this year. Provided she comes out of the Nunthorpe in good shape, Quinn is mapping out three more starts for his stable star before a conversation is then had about her future.
Whatever that decision turns out to be, Quinn is rightfully proud of everything Highfield Princess has achieved and excited for what she could still do between now and the end of the year.
“We’re going to stay in Europe for the time being,” Quinn began when summing up the next steps. “If everything goes to plan after York, she’ll run in the Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh [September 11] and, if she’s okay, we’d like to run her in the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp [October 1].
“Her swansong could be at the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita [November 4] or in the Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin [December 10], although it’s not set in stone [retirement]. That’s entirely up to the owner, but there is quite a high possibility that this is her last year.
“Whatever happens, it’s been wonderful that we’ve come across her. She’s been a great mare to have anything to do with and we’ve still got plenty to look forward to. It’s great for everybody who works so hard here with us at Highfield Stables.”
Local rivals revelling in each other's success
It’s not just Quinn and his team who have enjoyed the ride Highfield Princess has taken them on over the last couple of seasons. Camacho counts herself as a big fan of a mare who has really helped to put Malton on the map with her exploits at the top level for owner-breeder John Fairley, who also happens to be Quinn’s landlord and a former senior executive at Channel 4 Racing.
“Absolutely,” Camacho replied when asked whether she’s enjoyed following their journey from across the town. “She’s owned by such lovely people and I’ve got to know them a bit.
“I spoke to them at Haydock recently and I told them how pleased we were for them. We really are, pleased for John, Sean, Sue, Kelly and all the Quinn team. It’s just brilliant that these two great horses are trained on the same gallops – it’s wonderful for Malton.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Quinn, who repaid the compliment to Camacho and the whole team at Star Cottage for the way they’ve brought Shaquille up through the ranks, providing further evidence that the North’s trainers are as good as anyone given the right raw materials.
“They work very hard and they run a good operation,” Quinn summed up. “It’s great that a top-class horse came their way and they have managed him and trained him so well.
“I think people have seen over the years that the people who train up here are very capable trainers. When good horses come their way, they don’t miss. The world’s a very small place and you have people from all over the world with horses in training in the North of England.
“It’s great to have two champions in the North as well, it just rubber stamps the whole deal and shows what we can do.”
Highfield Princess vs Shaquille
Camacho and Quinn might be fulsome in their praise for one another, but they’re clearly competitive individuals at heart, as you need to be to enjoy success in this sport for as long as they have.
Therefore, I was interested to see how they’d respond when I put them both on the spot and asked the question: Who would win in a race between Highfield Princess and Shaquille over five and a half furlongs?
“Sure, Highfield Princess,” Quinn replied instantly before roaring with laughter, the same reaction I received from Camacho before she eventually came to a more diplomatic conclusion.
“If it was on the Malton gallops, Highfield Princess would beat Shaquille because he’s not an exuberant work horse by any means,” she conceded. “But I don’t know is the honest answer. Harty [Jason Hart, rider of Highfield Princess] would tell me he’d beat us!”
Hart might be biased in his view, but the Malton locals could be forgiven if they’re divided in their loyalties, unable to split two giants of the Flat racing scene in Europe, never mind on their small patch of turf back home.
Two horses worthy of celebration ahead of the biggest Flat racing bash the North has to offer.
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