Shaquille works a charm for his sire in the Commonwealth Cup

Charm Spirit is considerably better known as a stallion on the other side of the world than in Europe, where his first Group 1 winner arrived via the surprise package Shaquille in the Commonwealth Cup.

His pedigree was noted separately by both of the colt’s breeders, Martin Hughes and Michael Kerr-Dineen, as just another layer of what has been a real fairy story for Julie Camacho’s Malton stable.

Bred just along the road at Ian and Kath Hutchinson’s Battlefield Stud, Shaquille’s dam is Magic, an unraced Galileo mare produced by Glenvale Stud out of Danehurst, who won Group sprints across Europe for Sir Mark Prescott.

Magic’s first two foals could not win a race between them and were sold on for pennies. This one is pretty exceptional, losing lengths out of the stalls at Royal Ascot on Friday but cutting through the field to relegate last year’s two-year-old champion Little Big Bear to second.

"He’s the third foal, and the first one that’s been any good," said Hughes.  "He blew the start so it’s an amazing surprise."

Kerr-Dineen had sold his share of Shaquille before he had ever run, with Hughes finding two other partners to be involved in a colt who has been beaten only once in seven races.

He was nonetheless very much part of the celebrations in the winner’s enclosure.

"It’s Charm Spirit’s first Group 1 winner, so it must say a lot for the mare," he said.

"I kind of brought Martin into racing a few years ago with Hughie Morrison and Richard Hannon, and he’s branched off a bit doing his own breeding. I’m so pleased for all of them."

Shaquille was not even one of the eight Group winners previously sired by Charm Spirit from his six crops of racing age as he arrived at Ascot after a Listed success at Newbury. Six of the others were in either Australia or New Zealand, to where Charm Spirit shuttled.

Charm Spirit: Haras du Logis Saint Germain sire struck in the Commonwealth CupCredit: Haras du Logis Saint Germain

Bred by Ecurie des Monceaux, he signed off his racing career by winning the QEII at this very track in 2014 before switching between Haras de Bonneval and Tweenhills. However, he has been back in France at Haras du Logis Saint Germain, a picturesque operation about an hour's drive south-east of Deauville, for the last three seasons and stands at a modest fee of €5,000.

"He's had plenty of winners but was just missing a big one," said Jerome Glandais, manager of Logis Saint Germain. "A Group 1 winner, especially at Royal Ascot, is a really big one.

"We knew this horse had the potential, particularly as the only time he was beaten was by the Guineas winner [Chaldean, at York] and he came right back from that. 

"I think maybe Charm Spirit didn't live up to expectations at the farms he was at before; he had a final crop of only ten or 12 in the season before he came to us, but many of the farms around us use him and I think he covered about 55 mares this year. 

"Hopefully this helps him to cover more - he has sired a Group 1 winner now and you can't take that away from him."

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