Quirky and difficult to model pupil: Judicial's evolution into a Saturday star

As Judicial galloped along the tarmac towards a roundabout on the A4 between Marlborough and Calne in Wiltshire in the summer of 2015, few could have imagined this unruly rogue morphing into the consummate professional he has now become.

Despite winning all three starts for then trainer Roger Charlton in his two-year-old season, the colt proved too much even for the excellent team at Beckhampton stables to handle.

High-class work riders actively shied away from riding him on the gallops such was his tempestuous nature, while his personal battles with the starting stalls and keen-going style left Charlton and his colleagues scratching their heads.

Then came the escape. Judicial was eventually corralled before his highway code skills could be tested at the roundabout but the dye was already cast in Charlton’s mind – this horse needed a change.

“He started off life being quite quirky and difficult. I found when he was here we needed the best rider all the time and to be very careful with him. In the end I was actually struggling to find people to ride him because he was so difficult” says Charlton through a chuckle as he remembers those testing early days.

Callum Rodriguez gains his first Group race win on JudicialCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

“There were times when he didn’t want to go out on the gallops. There were days he didn’t want to cooperate at all but he has turned into a magnificent beast and very honourable racehorse now. This may well be the best he’s ever been.

“I think maybe we didn’t do the best for him, I don’t know why. I think if we’d kept him longer we would have reaped the benefits.”

A last-place finish in a Goodwood handicap in July 2015 would be Judicial’s final run under Charlton’s care, with both the trainer and owner, Elite Racing, feeling a move to a smaller yard may just be the calming tonic the son of Iffraaj required.

Julie Camacho, along with husband and assistant Steve Brown, are located 220 miles north of Beckhampton and it was to their small Malton yard Judicial travelled in the autumn of 2015 to begin his steady transformation.

A winning debut for his new team at Kempton signalled the first green shoots of a revival, but Camacho is the first to admit it was not all plain sailing, as Judicial retained plenty of the quirks responsible for bringing his time at Charlton’s to an end.

“He was always a bit naughty back then and had a stalls issue as well,” says Camacho. “We were getting another one from Roger at the time anyway and I think he suggested Judicial would be better going to a smaller yard.

“He wasn’t easy to ride and had to go to stalls training, he was a bit of a handful let’s put it that way. He wasn’t a horse you could get really close to when he first joined us but I can’t remember him being properly bad when he joined.”

As Camacho and her team worked to knead out the kinks in Judicial’s constitution off the course, his performances on it began to improve. Handicap victories at Thirsk and Chester in the 2016 season saw his rating jump from 87 to 100, before a hat-trick of victories 12-months later signalled his permanent graduation out of handicap company.

The once wild Judicial was now a far more placid creature and Camacho is certain his surroundings played as big a part as anything in maintaining the seemingly never-ending progression for which he is now best known.

“One thing we can do differently with him is turn him out every day,” Camacho says. “Bigger yards understandably can’t do that but it does make a massive difference to a horse’s temperament. It relaxes them so much.

“Unless he’s going a long way we would normally turn him out in the paddock before he travels just to keep him relaxed. We used to make him travel with my daughter’s little pony to keep him relaxed while travelling but he’s so different now.

“When we went to Chester the other day there was chaos on the M62 because of a lorry fire, when we first got him I think he would have gone to pieces being in the horsebox for so long. Now he just isn’t bothered at all, he trotted off with a bit of sweat on him and went out and won. He’s so much more chilled now.”

By 2018, Judicial had begun to fully hit his straps. A narrow second to the top-class Mabs Cross in the Group 3 Palace House Stakes preceded an easy victory at Beverley before connections turned their attention on the Coral Charge at Sandown.

Judicial (near side) is just caught by Mabs Cross with Alpha Delfini back in third in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket last MayCredit: Mark Cranham

The Camacho team were not well versed when it came to Group races. Indeed, going into Sandown they had never even tasted Listed glory. Yet just under two hours before Roaring Lion took his Coral-Eclipse, Judicial held off Muthmir to claim a valuable first Pattern-level prize for his yard.

It is a day Camacho will never forget. “My favourite win of his was when he won his and our first Group race at Sandown,” she says. “It was such a big day for a small yard and meant so much to everyone involved.

“It is transformative to have a horse like this in a small yard. We’re always striving to have Saturday horses because that’s where people see them, that’s where people take notice. He’s taken us to places we never dreamed we would ever get to be. We’d never been to Royal Ascot before he came along, he’s opened doors for us.

“But every win is special, he’s run 39 times over his career and won 13 times for us, that’s amazing really. It’s not easy to do with any horse but even harder when you’re not running in sellers, claimers and handicaps.”

The breakthrough Sandown success left Camacho wondering just how good Judicial really could be. Rapid over five furlongs and with the heart of a lion at the finish, it seemed only fair for him to have a crack at the big boys.

But Group 1 defeats in the Nunthorpe at York and at Royal Ascot in 2019 were evidence enough that top-level competition may just be a bridge too far. Heads were not bowed however, and in a style that has come to define Judicial he duly bounced back with wins at Newmarket and Beverley.

“We know he’s not a Group 1 horse, we appreciate that,” Camacho continues. “But in sprint races you can run above yourself and so we always thought it was worth taking on the big boys occasionally.

“We don’t do that very often now as we know we’re not good enough to but he’s Elite Racing’s most winning horse and that’s fantastic.”
As Judicial has become longer in the tooth he has lost a morsel of the blazing tactical speed that made him so dangerous over five furlongs for the majority of his career. Jim Crowley suggested to Camacho a step up to six may be of help after riding him at Newbury, and the change has paid off.

This season, the now eight-year-old is seemingly in better form than ever before, with a Newcastle Group 3 and Listed success at Chester already secured as well as a peak official rating of 110.

“He just kept getting better and better all the time we had him,” Camacho says. “That has never stopped and you could make the case that he’s as good now as he’s ever been.

“Both Newcastle and Chester were serious performances and now he’s an eight-year-old he just seems to have clicked better than ever at a time when most people are expecting him to be on the decline.

“Those runs have come over six furlongs, which has been a change this season. When we first got him he would have struggled over six. He was very keen but he’s so much more settled now.

Judicial: wins the Chipchase Stakes in the pouring rain at NewcastleCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

“When we ran him at Newbury last season Jim Crolwey said we were taking him off his feet over five and that he would be a happier horse if you step up. We took him to Lingfield over that easy six and look what happened, he won easily."

This is an admirable racehorse and one imbued with something Flat horses rarely enjoy – longevity. For the most part Flat racing is a short-term enterprise with many of the best and brightest stars earmarked for the breeding sheds even before their racing careers have started.

Of course, down at the lower ends of the scale there are hardy handicappers running into their teens occasionally, but this is no handicapper, this is a bona-fide Saturday star strutting his stuff as well as ever at the age of eight.

So what next? More of the same for now is the indication from Camacho, with the Garrowby Stakes at York looking a possible target.

However, with Judicial now in the latter stages of his career plans are being made for his retirement and it will be one that allows him to go out on top. “He’ll keep turning out for as long as he can but he won’t be one that comes tumbling down the weights and runs in claimers at the end,” says Camacho.

“He’ll be finished, retired and hopefully fit and healthy before he ever gets to that stage. We would never do it personally and I know Elite wouldn’t do that either. They have a fantastic facility in Wiltshire for recovering horses and for pre-training and I’m sure that’s where he’ll go for his retirement.”

Camacho really loves Judicial. She loves his loveable roguishness, his predilection for mints and apples, his standing as the senior and most decorated statesman of her North Yorkshire yard and his ability to keep winning races year after year.

May the twilight of his career continue to be a glorious one.

‘It’s been a tough year for many but he has given us plenty of enjoyment’

Chris Price of Elite Racing Club describes what it is like to own such an admiral horse . . .

I’ve been a member of the Elite Racing Club since 2015. With a share of prize-money won, a loyalty discount and regular opportunities for stable visits and owners’ badges, it is excellent value. During my time with the club the undoubted star of the show is our homebred out of Marlinka and the club’s winningmost horse,
Judicial.

‘Jude’ started his career with Roger Charlton but has been with Julie Camacho since Autumn 2015. Management at Elite decided the more relaxed environment and attention to detail offered in a smaller yard would give Judicial every chance to thrive, having had the reputation of a bit of a tearaway during his early years.

I was delighted to see the care given by Julie Camacho, Steve Brown and the staff at Star Cottage begin to reap its rewards, as Judicial became the yard’s first Group winner in the Coral Charge two years ago.

Since then, and with the help of a small wind-op, another Group 3 has been won, on top of three Listed races, including last time out at Chester.

It’s testament to giving horses time and patience, has allowed Jude to be as good as ever at the age of eight, proving to be versatile with excellent records at the likes of Chester, Newmarket and Beverley, breaking the course record at the latter in 2017.

It’s been a very challenging year for so many people, but our superstar Judicial has certainly given us members of Elite Racing plenty of enjoyment over the summer. We look forward to running at Haydock or York next week.

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