Big plans revealed for evergreen elite star Judicial

Features | 1st October 2021

Elite Racing’s evergreen northern sprinter Judicial will set out to win for the 18th time when he re-appears in a Kempton Park conditions race in early October.

The Polytrack dash will be a warm up for Judicial’s bid for a second win in the Listed Golden Rose Stakes at Lingfield Park in November – a Fast Track Qualifier for the All-Weather Championships Sprint Final.

Dan Downie, the racing manager for Elite, paid tribute to their nine-year-old home-bred star who has two Group 3s, four Listed successes and almost £320,000 in prize money to his name yet shows no signs of losing his form.

“He’s a very special horse for the club,” he said. “He’s tough and sound and keeps on performing to a high level year after year. He’s a credit to Julie Camacho and her husband Steve Brown, who have managed him brilliantly.”

“As you can imagine, he’s incredibly popular among our members who turned out in numbers to see him at our Elite Racing Club open day at Julie’s Malton stables in August.”

Over 150 fans flocked to see him that day, and he proved to be the main attraction once again at the recent Malton Open Day which took place during the inaugural National Racehorse Week.

“He loves the attention,” added Steve. “In his younger days he was quite a handful but he’d have stood for hours enjoying the mints, the cuddles and the photographs. He’s turned into quite the showman.”

Impressive in landing his latest victory, the Listed Queensferry Stakes at Chester in August, Judicial is the winning most horse in the illustrious history of Elite Racing, who also bred him. He boasts a CV that includes wins in top sprints such as the Chipchase Stakes, the Coral Charge and the Beverley Bullet.

Judicial and Callum Rodriguez winning The listed Children's Air Ambulance Queensferry Stakes at Chester
Judicial and Callum Rodriguez winning The listed Children's Air Ambulance Queensferry Stakes at Chester

“He was the first foal of Marlinka, who went on to produce our Group 1 star Marsha, too,” explained Dan. “She was a superstar for us, but Judicial’s longevity has earned him a special following, too.”

“We hope he will qualify for the All-Weather Championships Finals and then return to the turf to race as a 10-year-old as he’s lightly raced for his age,” he added. “As long as he has that enthusiasm for his job we’ll keep going. Hopefully there are a few more chapters in his success story still to come.”

“Every year he enjoys his holiday at our farm in Wiltshire and when he does eventually retire he will probably spend the rest of his days there with our multiple winner Dancing Bay, who is 24 now, and another old star Top Tug.”

Elite Racing Club has enjoyed over 400 winners on the Flat and over jumps in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France since it was formed in 1992, offering members all the thrills of ownership for an annual cost of just £199