Charlie and Mark Johnston | Racingfotos.com

Name: Unnamed
Pedigree: Sea The Stars (Ire) colt out of Kitcara (GB) (Shamardal)
Bought for 100,000gns from Castlebridge at Tattersalls Book 1
Owner: Tony Farmer
He's a brother to Al Aasy (Ire) and is a huge, big horse-absolutely ginormous. I wonder if that is what put other people off him at Book 1. It certainly didn't put us off. He's one for his three-year-old year but will make up into a lovely horse in time. He is quite a late foal and I would be surprised if we saw him before September or October this year. He will need a mile as a minimum, even this year, and is going to be one for next year over a-mile-and-a-half. That's when he is going to come into his own. He has the frame to fill into an absolutely gorgeous horse. Obviously Al Aasy was a very talented horse, was second in a Coronation Cup, and all his form was over middle-distances. There will be no real rush with this lad.

Arch Legend
Camelot (GB) colt out of Nakuti (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire})
Cost 82,000gns from Newsells Park Stud at Tattersalls Book 2
Barbara and Alick Richmond
He is owned by Barbara and Alick Richmond, who have had a huge amount of success with another Camelot (GB), Living Legend (Ire). He has been a great horse for us over the years and this horse is in a similar mould–a very big and quite a heavy colt. I think he will need some time and his half-sister Heredia (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) did well last year so it's a strong page. He will need a minimum of seven furlongs this year and was bought as a replacement for Living Legend. They are big shoes to fill but he is a lovely individual.

Unnamed
Lope De Vega (Ire) filly out of Ceisteach (Ire) (New Approach {Ire})
Bought from Newsells Park Stud at Book 2 for 55,000gns
Ballylinch Stud
Nice filly. One thing we've learned over the years with Lope De Vega is that giving them time as two-year-olds is pretty crucial. We won't be seeing this filly until the seven furlong races start in the middle of the year but she is very nice. It's another good owner and stallion to have in the yard, that's for sure. The dam started off with Jim Bolger and ended up going to America where she did well in stakes races. She was a winner over ten furlongs and upwards and is by New Approach so there's plenty of stamina in the pedigree on that side.

Unnamed
Too Darn Hot (GB) colt out of Reckoning (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire})
A 110,000gns purchase off Mascalls Stud from New England Stud at Tattersalls Book 1
Dr Jim Walker
This pedigree has gone in a slightly different direction with Too Darn Hot. Obviously it's a family we know very well and it's one that is very special to us given the mare has produced Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Sir Ron Priestley (GB) (Australia {GB}). Subjectivist obviously ran really well at Meydan last Saturday and it was great to see him back near his best. I think we have had five out of the last six foals out of this mare but we don't have the three-year-old by Roaring Lion out of her. The four-year-old, World Without Love (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}), is still in training with us as well, but obviously the two that were most successful were by Teofilo and Australia, who are out and out middle-distance stallions. This is a different avenue for the mare with Too Darn Hot but he is a lovely individual who has already done one slightly faster piece of work where he went very nicely. The rest of the family got dramatically better at three and again at four but we are hoping that we might see a little more from this guy at two. He is owned by Dr Jim Walker who has been a big supporter of this family since Subjectivist came along. Physically, he is quite similar to Subjectivist and Sir Ron in that he is quite a tall and lengthy horse. He is built in the mould of a middle-distance horse and, to be fair, Subjectivist ran the seven-furlong maiden at Haydock in the beginning of June that we usually target with our Chesham horses, so he was obviously showing us a good bit at two as well. As is often the case, no matter what stamina they have in the pedigree and even if they are going to need a trip in time, the ones who are top class will still show you that ability quite early in their careers. Hopefully this colt will be in that bracket.

Unnamed
Footstepsinthesand (GB) filly out of Crystal Valkyrie (Ire) (Danehill)
Cost €36,000 from Castledillon Stud At Tattersalls Ireland
GPS Bloodstock
Crystal Valkyrie is a very old mare, is 24 now, but I couldn't help myself going in once more to buy this Footstepsinthesand filly because the family has been very good to us. This filly's half-sister Freyja (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) was black-type for us and her brother State Of Bliss (Ire) was another frequent winner. Out of their sibling, Sent From Heaven (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand), we've a nice three-year-old for this year called Benacre–he could be quite a useful colt. It's a family we know well and the combination of that and Footstepsinthesand, who is a stallion we have done very well with, it was enough of a draw for me to forgive the fact that the mare is quite old. I'd say she will want seven furlongs this year and she is a little hot, as they often can be by this stallion, but she is a nice filly.

Love Safari
Galileo (Ire) colt out of Just Pretending (Giant's Causeway)
Cost 57,000gns from Baroda Stud at Tattersalls Book 2
Crone Stud Farms Ltd
There will be a little bit of a theme here because I have put forward three Galileos, all of which were bought relatively cheaply. We expected people to be clamouring over them but we found it easier to buy his offspring last year than at any other time, really. This was the cheapest of the three and he has a very strong pedigree with the dam placing in an Irish Guineas and an Irish Oaks. There are two full siblings who got black-type as well. He is a pretty backward colt and I think he will need a lot of time–he'll be one for the autumn. It's an unbelievably-strong pedigree for the money and hopefully he'll be a nice colt in time. Just looking at my notes from when we bought him as a yearling, the main things that people may have cribbed him for was that he was weak, narrow and light of bone. He is just a backward colt who needs time and we are more than prepared to give it to him.

Madame Sans Gene
Study Of Man (Ire) filly out of Lady Jane Digby (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB})
Homebred
Kirsten Rausing
Miss Rausing has sent us two homebreds, both of which are by Study Of Man and this one is out of Lady Jane Digby, who we trained to win a Group 1. I think this is the eighth foal we've had out of the mare and all seven before her have won. They've all been like their Mum, in that they improved at three and when stepped up to middle-distances. I would expect this filly to follow a similar theme. She's from a lovely family and we trained Gateman (GB) (Owington {GB}) out of the second dam as well. It's a family we know inside out.

Marhaba Million
Galileo colt out of Kheleyf's Silver (Ire) (Kheleyf)
Bought at Goffs Orby from Castlehyde Stud for €82,000
Ahmad Al Shaikh
As I said about the previous Galileos, he's got such such a strong pedigree that you'd have thought he'd have cost a lot more. Again, he's quite a late foal, he's an April 3 foal, and was quite backward at the sales. That is still the case now but he has done really well physically–he's a much stronger horse than when he first arrived. I think he'll continue to improve as the year goes on and, while I don't think he'll show the speed of his sister Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), I see him more of a seven-furlong two-year-old for June onwards.

Bamburgh
Zoffany (Ire) colt out of Many Colours (GB) (Green Desert)
Bought at Goffs Orby for €80,000 from Whitehall Stud
Susan and John Waterworth and Partner
This is a brother to Mother Earth (Ire) and was not sold in the ring at Goffs Orby. We bought him outside the ring and it's another huge pedigree. There is a bit of a theme here but he was quite a weak and backwards-looking yearling who will need a bit of time. Since he has been with us, he has had one piece of faster work where he did it nicely, but we won't push too hard with him just yet. I wouldn't rule out starting him over six furlongs.

Unnamed
Frankel (GB) colt out of Nyaleti (Ire) (Arch)
Homebred
3 Batterhams and a Reay
He is a first foal and the one thing he doesn't look like is a typical first foal as he is absolutely huge. He is close to being our biggest and he's certainly our heaviest two-year-old at the moment. The dam won the week before Royal Ascot at Salisbury and then went on to finish second in the Chesham. I know that Chris Batterham is dreaming of aiming this horse back at the Chesham and we will see what the next month or two brings. Looking at him now, you would expect that he will need more time than that but the mare was such a fantastic performer, it's nice to have one of her sons in training with us. Chris has got a Dubawi (Ire) coming along and I'm pretty sure the mare went to Baaeed (GB) this year as well so there's lots of excitement to come with her, hopefully.

Paladin
Justify colt out of Golconda (FR) (Planteur {Ire})
Bought for €70,000 at Goffs Orby from Castlebridge
John Brown and Megan Dennis
He is the first and only Justify who we have had. He is a very strong horse and you can see the American strain in him-he is a tall, powerful, muscular horse with a really big, heavy shoulder on him. He's actually quite a lovely-mover despite him being quite heavy. He hasn't done any fast work yet but looks a seven-furlong type of two-year-old for the summer. We are happy with him.

Quintus Maximus
Kitten's Joy colt out of Indian Blessing (GB) (Sepoy {Aus})
Homebred
Newsells Park Stud and Waldmark Syndicate
This is a Newsells Park Stud homebred and is out of a very good mare who got black-type in Germany, France and then the UK and America. She was a very consistent racehorse from a two-year-old right through to her five-year-old career and he is the first foal out of her. He is not very big but is nicely put together and did his first piece of faster work last week where he went nicely. Most of the dam's form is from seven furlongs and up and she is by Sepoy herself. He's by Kitten's Joy so I would have thought he'd want to start at seven and move up from there but he's showing some early speed as well and looks an exciting prospect.

Blue Point: Johnston is a fan of the first-season sire | Darley

Unnamed
Kodiac (GB) colt out of Querulous (Raven's Pass)
Bought at Tattersalls Book 1 from Tally-Ho Stud for 52,000gns
Peter Savill
I hope I wasn't being too bold at the time but, when I bought this horse at Book 1, I joked to some of the people at Tattersalls that they could pay us out on the Book 1 bonus right there. Obviously Book 1 bonuses are something that we target a lot and, most of what we buy at Book 1, we buy them for less than a hundred grand. Being able to win a large chunk of that back in one hit through the bonus is a major incentive for us and is something we've had a lot of success with in the past. This lad is a full brother to Kessaar (Ire) and is a January 15 foal so we were expecting him to be really early but sadly he had a slight setback. He won't be one of our first horses into battle but he will run this year and is a lovely big colt who came from Tally-Ho Stud. There's plenty to work with there and he has a fair bit of speed. I'm hoping that he will cash in on the bonus at some point in the year.

Rakki
Sea The Stars (Ire) colt out of Waldmark (Ger) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire})
Bought for 100,000gns at Book 1 from Newsells
Mrs M C Sweeney
A pretty old mare, again, which is what I am guessing put a lot of people off at the sales. He was pretty backward at the time but what a page to be able to buy in to. He's average-sized and looks like a horse who will improve with more time. The vast majority of what the family achieved, it was all at three, and you'd expect him to be similar. He'll be one for the back end of this year.

Rosenzoo
Zoffany colt out of Rosenreihe (Ire) (Catcher In The Rye {Ire})
Private purchase
Kingsley Park 37 – Gold
This horse is in one of our Kingsley Park Syndicates and was bought outside the ring at Book 2 when he didn't make his reserve. It's a colt I really like and he was a backward and not a particularly impressive yearling but has just improved out of all recognition since he's joined us. I'm glad that Dad went and bartered with Philipp Stauffenberg the morning after he failed to sell. Dad would tell the full story better but they were leading the horse away to go back home to Germany so he really didn't have another minute. We got the horse in the end, which is all that matters.

Unnamed
Highland Reel (Ire) colt out of Recambe (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire})
Bought for 40,000gns from Baroda Stud at Tattersalls Book 2
Kingsley Park 37 – Gold
This is a half-brother to Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and, from memory, he could even be the first foal that the mare has had since, so they must have had quite a bit of difficulty with the dam along the way. We picked him up at Book 2 and he was quite backward as an April 27 foal but he has done nothing but improve with us. He's another in the Kingsley Park Syndicate and could be a fun horse for everyone in the second half of this year and then into next year.

Kenny Alexander: Honeysuckle's owner is new to the stable | Racingfotos.com

Saint Matthew
Caravaggio colt out of Lamya (Ger) (Choisir {Aus})
Homebred
Hussain Alabbas Lootah
We had Lamation (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) out of the mare last year and he showed a bit of speed but this fellow put his hand up right from the word go to be one of our earlier runners. He's not done a huge amount of work because the weather has held us up. He's only actually been on grass once but, what he has done at home, he has done it very well. He is forward and is built for this job–he's a strong and compact horse who looks the right type to be running at this time of year.

Sennockian
No Nay Never colt out of Lady Gorgeous (GB) (Compton Place {GB})
Bought for €120,000 from Glenvale Stud at Goffs Orby
The Burke Family
He's a half-brother to Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}), the champion two-year-old filly from a few years ago, and is not overly big but is well put together. He did his first piece of work on Wednesday morning and went quite nicely. He's a May 10 foal and we tend to try not to run them before their official second birthday. It will be another six weeks before we see him out but, physically, he's the right type to be running pretty early.

Specific Times
Blue Point (Ire) filly out of Daily Times (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire})
Homebred
Times Of Wigan
Plenty of owners and breeders ask around this time of year what are first-season sires that we like and my go-to response has been Blue Point. We have a few of them and we like them all. This filly in particular looks sharp and she could be our first filly to run. She has had three faster pieces of work and has done everything easily up until now. Kempton stages the first two-year-old fillies' race in the second week of April and, all being well, she could go there.

Unnamed
Blue Point colt out of Bergamask (Kingmambo)
Homebred
Godolphin
He's a half to Buratino (Ire) so it's another family we know well. He didn't come to us until recently so hasn't done any faster work but he looks the right type to be precocious and early. He's quite a boy and is fairly full of himself, as Buratino was himself, but he's another Blue Point that we like and he looks as though he'll be pretty early.

Unnamed
Kingman (GB) filly out of Seventh Heaven (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})
Bought for 70,000gns at Tattersalls Book 1 from Voute Sales Ltd
Kenny Alexander
It's a massive pedigree for the money she cost and is owned by Kenny Alexander who has a couple of fillies with us this year. It's great to have him on board in this sphere now and this is a nice filly. Her dam was a top-class filly and, while you would expect to see some speed from Kingman, I see her more as a 10-furlong type for next year. If she can win, she has a lot of residual value going forward. Kenny approached us with the aim of following a similar approach to his ownership over jumps with those high-class fillies. We bought a couple of yearlings with nice pages for him and, while the bar has been set pretty high from what he has been achieving over jumps, hopefully we can have some success for him.

Unnamed
Kingman filly out of You're Back (Street Cry)
Cost 75,000gns at Book 1 from Highclere Stud
Jaber Abdullah
This is quite a big, masculine filly and is taking more from the Kingman side of her pedigree. She's had two gallops already and has gone well. I could see her being out at some point in April if not early-May. She's showing a bit of speed and will be one of the earlier fillies.

Unnamed
Galileo colt out of Tiggy Wiggy
Cost 115,000gns from Voute Sales Ltd at Book 2
Sheikh Hamed Dalmook Al Maktoum
This lad is a June 9 foal, so he is a very late foal, and I'm not sure what role that played in his price at the sales. Because of his date of birth, we haven't done anything strong with him but he's a lovely colt and I wouldn't rule him out being ready for mid-summer.

The post Charlie Johnston: ‘You Can Still Get Value On Horses With Great Pages’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“Entries closed yesterday morning for the Saudi Cup meeting and Subjectivist has been entered in the [G3] Red Sea Turf H.–[the] 1 mile and 7-furlong race,” Johnston said.

Winner of the 2021 G1 Gold Cup June 17, the now-6-year-old was previously victorious in the 2020 G1 Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp on Oct. 25 and the 2021 G2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March of 2021. During his win at the Royal Meeting, he sustained a potentially career-threatening leg injury. While there were initially hopes he would return to defend his Gold Cup crown, it did not happen by the summer.

Subjectivist is now back in full work mode, and while Johnston is taking a day-to-day approach, he is pleased with what he has seen so far.

Reporting on Subjectivist's progress, “He's been back in work since early October and has been cantering all the way through December and into January now. There's still a long way to go–we haven't started to turn the screw just yet with any faster work.

“Every day the fingers are crossed watching him, but so far so good.”

Just this week, Johnston took over the training licence fully from his record-breaking father Mark. He has already celebrated a pair of winners.

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“He came second in the Royal Lodge so, in that sense, he has exactly the same profile to [2020 winner] Gear Up,” said trainer Mark Johnston after claiming a second win in the contest. “They are similar horses in other ways and this fellow clearly looks like he stays and will stay further. It's sad that the sire's no longer with us and we've had a lot of success with his first crop.”

Reflecting on Dubai Mile's performance, Johnston added, “It's fantastic the way he has come back and it was a tremendous ride by the jockey. I think we all thought we were looking for fourth place on the bend and Daniel [Muscutt] said he felt it would have been a mistake to rush the horse when he was headed and he gradually worked back into it. That was clearly the right decision. The horse has surprised a lot of people, including us, along the way because he has a style of racing where he looks green in every race. That was his fifth race and he still looks a little bit green, but he's clearly got a tremendous attitude. When he's got something to aim at he keeps finding a bit more.”

Looking ahead, the trainer continued, “[Owner] Ahmad Al Shaikh has some very clever ideas and has helped campaign the horse very well. He was due to be sold before the Royal Lodge, but the deal was never completed. He's in the [Tattersalls] Horses-in-Training sale next week and he may yet go there.”

Pedigree Notes
Dubai Mile is the ninth foal and scorer produced by stakes-winning G1 Pretty Polly S. runner-up Beach Bunny (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), herself the leading performer out of an unraced half-sister to G1 1000 Guineas heroine Miss France (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). Beach Bunny is kin to the dam of G3 Grosser Preis von Lotto Hamburg victor King David (Den) (Elusive City). The March-foaled chestnut is kin to stakes-winning dual Group 3 placegetter Naadirr (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), Listed Naas Fillies Sprint victrix Beach Belle (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and a weanling colt by Sottsass (Fr). Beach Belle, in turn, is the dam of Listed King Charles II S. winner Surf Dancer (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).

Saturday, Saint-Cloud, France
CRITERIUM DE SAINT-CLOUD-G1, €250,000, Saint-Cloud, 10-22, 2yo, c/f, 10fT, 2:20.57, hy.
1–DUBAI MILE (IRE), 126, c, 2, by Roaring Lion
1st Dam: Beach Bunny (Ire) (SW & G1SP-Ire, $263,884), by High Chaparral (Ire)
2nd Dam: Miss Hawai (Fr), by Peintre Celebre
3rd Dam: Miss Tahiti (Ire), by Tirol (Ire)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (€20,000 Ylg '21 GOFOR). O-Ahmad Al Shaikh; B-Skymarc Farm (IRE); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston; J-Daniel Muscutt. €142,850. Lifetime Record: GSP-Eng, 5-3-1-0, €184,225. *1/2 to Naadirr (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), MSW & GSP-Eng, GSP-Ity, $307,838; and Beach Belle (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), SW-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Arrest (Ire), 126, c, 2, Frankel (GB)–Nisriyna (Ire), by Intikhab. 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€440,000 Wlg '20 GOFNOV). O-Juddmonte; B-Swordlestown Little (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden. €57,150.
3–Adelaide River (Ire), 126, c, 2, Australia (GB)–Could It Be Love, by War Front. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €28,575.
Margins: HD, 6, NK. Odds: 4.90, 2.30, 3.50.
Also Ran: Gan Teorainn (Ire), Sylphid (GB), Cite d'Or (Fr), Ndaawi (GB), Covent Garden (Ire), Strako (Fr). Video, sponsored by TVG.

A Group 1 winner for Roaring Lion as a sire

Dubai Mile is tough as nails to beat Arrest in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud for @D_Muscutttt and @Johnston_Racing! pic.twitter.com/xaIDVLnQkO

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 22, 2022

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1st-Kempton, £6,800, Nov, 8-24, 2yo, 8f (AWT), 1:42.35, st/sl.
DUBAI MILE (IRE) (c, 2, Roaring Lion–Beach Bunny {Ire} {SW & G1SP-Ire, $263,884}, by High Chaparral {Ire}), a €20,000 Goffs Orby graduate penalised seven pounds for breaking through in an extended-mile test at Windsor earlier this month, broke sharply and raced on the lead from flagfall here. Scrubbed along to maintain control approaching the final quarter mile, the 6-5 favourite was safely clear passing the eighth pole and kept on powerfully in the closing stages to easily defeat 13-8 market rival Super Mo (Uncle Mo) by an impressive four lengths, becoming trainer Mark Johnston's 5,000th winner. “I liked him a lot when I won on him at Windsor, he was fairly raw and made his own running that day too,” said rider Daniel Muscutt of the G2 Royal Lodge S. entry. “He didn't really engage until horses came to him last time and he put himself in the right position again today. He travelled much smoother through the early part of the race, with a bit of company, and as soon as I gave him the office in the straight he dropped his head to the floor and galloped away. That seems to be a trait of the few Roaring Lions I have ridden. He's a big baby and has plenty of scope and, next year, he'll be a nice 3-year-old over a little bit further. He's got a great action, he's a well-balanced colt and covers a lot of ground. He's a nice horse and, hopefully, he'll keep improving.” Reflecting on his unique achievement, Johnston added, “It's obviously a bit different from breaking the [British] record in 2018, you could say no one has reached 4,194 winners, so it's not as if I'm breaking new ground. It's just another landmark and setting the bar higher for people to try to reach. The main thing is the whole business revolves around winners and a lot of winners means a lot of happy owners and, hopefully, we can continue doing the same thing. The most important thing is Charlie's now getting credit for something that he's been doing for quite some time in the business. It's certainly part of the plan that he will take over at some stage in the relatively near future, but we don't know when that will be.” Dubai Mile is the ninth foal and winner produced by stakes-winning G1 Pretty Polly S. runner-up Beach Bunny (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), herself the leading performer out of an unraced half to G1 1000 Guineas heroine Miss France (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). The March-foaled chestnut is kin to stakes-winning dual Group 3 placegetter Naadirr (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), Listed Naas Fillies Sprint victrix Beach Belle (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and a weanling colt by Sottsass (Fr). Beach Belle, in turn, is the dam of Listed King Charles II S. winner Surf Dancer (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). Sales history: €20,000 Ylg '21 GOFOR. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $9,379.
O-Ahmad Al Shaikh; B-Skymarc Farm (IRE); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston.

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“Every time I see her in the paddock I think how the hell did I buy her for £15,000 as she is a gorgeous filly,” said Charlie Johnston. “She was difficult to break in early on and I remember it vividly as she was one of our worst problem children in the winter. The tail [swishing] has been a theme from day one. Joe Fanning has ridden her in most of her work, but he and every jockey that has ridden her does not come in and say she is not trying. You can't question her attitude there and she toughed it out well. This has been the plan since [Royal] Ascot and I thought this track would be ideal for her. “The [G2] May Hill [at Doncaster] looks the spot for her and, how she has finished there, maybe we should stick to seven [furlongs]. There is the [G2] Rockfel [at Newmarket's Rowley Mile track], but she is also in the [G1] Moyglare [at the Curragh].”

Lakota Sioux is the seventh of eight foals and one of six scorers from as many runners out of G3 Prix Allez France victrix Shemiyla (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}). The March-foaled bay is a half-sister to stakes-winning G1 Sydney Cup runner-up Sheraz (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and a yearling colt by Blue Point (Ire). Shemiyla, a half-sister to the dam of G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Shakeel (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}), is out of Listed Prix Madame Jean Couturie winner Shemala (Ire) (Danehill), herself one of four black-type performers produced by G1 Prix de Diane heroine Shemaka (Ire) (Nishapour {Fr}).

Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
JEWSON SWEET SOLERA S.-G3, £60,000, Newmarket, 8-6, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:16.04, g/f.
1–LAKOTA SIOUX (IRE), 128, f, 2, by Sioux Nation
1st Dam: Shemiyla (Fr) (GSW-Fr, $169,373), by Dalakhani (Ire)
2nd Dam: Shemala (Ire), by Danehill
3rd Dam: Shemaka (Ire), by Nishapour (Fr)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (£15,000 Ylg '21 TATIRY). O-Gallop Racing; B-Fethard Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston; J-James Doyle. £34,026. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-2, $61,302. *1/2 to Sheraz (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), SW & GSP-Fr, G1SP-Aus, $437,731. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Dandy Alys (Ire), 128, f, 2, Dandy Man (Ire)–Alyssum (Ire), by New Approach (Ire). 1ST BLACK-TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (£45,000 Ylg '21 TATIRY). O-The Sunshine Partnership & Partner; B-Lodge Park Stud (IRE); T-Ralph Beckett. £12,900.
3–Mottisfont (Ire), 128, f, 2, Adaay (Ire)–Broadlands (GB), by Kheleyf. 1ST BLACK-TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-The End-R-Ways Partnership & Partners; B-The Lavington Stud (IRE); T-Hugh Morrison. £6,456.
Margins: 3/4, HF, NK. Odds: 3.33, 16.00, 16.00.
Also Ran: Ivory Madonna (Ire), Novakai (GB), Inanna (Ire), Alseyoob (Ire), Lady Alara (Ire), Divina Grace (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

Sweet Solera Stakes (G3)
1410m, 60.000 GBP, for 2yo fillies
Newmarket

Lakota Sioux (IRE)
(2F Sioux Nation – Shemiyla, by Dalakhani)
J : James Doyle
T :Charlie & Mark Johnston
O :Gallop Racing
B : Fethard Bloodstock Ltdpic.twitter.com/TWVbiEGE0k

— (@WorldRacing1) August 6, 2022

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“It was Plan Z as she missed the break and was a lot further back than intended, but I was impressed as she had to make a lot of ground up,” said Charlie Johnston. “Because she made such a big effort I thought she was going to pay for that in the last 150 yards, but she managed to find even more so it was impressive. She's by Cracksman so you wouldn't expect her to be doing this already and, even though it's a small sample size, the Cracksmans are making an impression. We've got three, two have won and the other will be out soon. She's in the [G2] Debutante and [G1] Moyglare in Ireland and I suspect her next run will either be the Moyglare or the [G2] May Hill at Doncaster. Those look the two best options for her. They are in September which is a far way away, but if anything you'd think she would improve for going [up to] a mile.”

Dance In The Grass, half-sister to a yearling colt by Ulysses (Ire) and a weanling colt by Too Darn Hot (GB), is the first of three foals produced by Listed Daisy Warwick S. third Dance The Dream (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}), herself a half-sister to G3 Dee S. placegetter Rasmy (GB) (Red Ransom) out of stakes-winning G1 Vodafone Oaks third Shadow Dancing (GB) (Unfuwain). Shadow Dancing is a daughter of Listed Cheshire Oaks victrix and G2 Park Hill S. runner-up Salchow (GB) (Niniski), herself a half-sister to G3 Chester Vase-winning sire Gulland (GB) (Unfuwain).

Thursday, Sandown, Britain
EUROPEAN BLOODSTOCK NEWS EBF STAR S.-Listed, £40,500, Sandown, 7-21, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:30.16, g/f.
1–DANCE IN THE GRASS (GB), 128, f, 2, by Cracksman (GB)
1st Dam: Dance The Dream (GB) (SP-Eng), by Sir Percy (GB)
2nd Dam: Shadow Dancing (GB), by Unfuwain
3rd Dam: Salchow (GB), by Niniski
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (57,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Jaber Abdullah; B-Minster Stud & Mrs H Dalgety (GB); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston; J-Silvestre de Sousa. £22,968. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $34,261.
2–Fairy Cross (Ire), 128, f, 2, Dubawi (Ire)–Devonshire (Ire), by Fast Company (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. £8,708.
3–Lady Alara (Ire), 128, f, 2, Invincible Spirit (Ire)–Red Halo (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. (€75,000 Wlg '20 GOFNOV; 110,000gns RNA Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Alara Investments Ltd; B-High Rollers (IRE); T-Charles Hills. £4,358.
Margins: 3/4, 6, NK. Odds: 2.75, 3.00, 8.00.
Also Ran: Bet Me (Ire), Inanna (Ire), Mlle Chanel (GB), Ipanema Princess (Ire), Ibiza Love (Ire), Pure Gold (GB), Tagline (GB).

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   The Middleham team sent out 100 or more winners for 28 consecutive seasons and, with 94 winners already on the board this term, are sure to surpass that tally once again. 

    Interestingly, the Johnstons have sent out 26 juvenile winners this season, which is more than any other trainer in Britain, which is vindication for the team's proactive approach to the yearling sales in recent years.

   That's not to say Mark Johnston has spent a fortune in recruiting his stable full of stars. In fact, the opposite is true. 

   No man has a better reputation at sniffing out a bargain at the sales and, speaking with Brian Sheerin in this week's Q&A, the trainer shared his unique approach to recruiting talented Thoroughbreds as well as commenting on the major issues hanging over racing in Britain.

Brian Sheerin: So far this term, yourself and Charlie have sent out 94 winners, which is more than any other trainer in Britain. Not only that, but 26 of those winners were recorded with juveniles, which is six more than anyone else [Richard Hannon] has achieved. Things are going pretty well.

Mark Johnston: We have roughly 220 horses in training but we are significantly down on previous years. We are 15% down on last year. We had our peak numbers in 2019, which was just before Covid hit, and the drop-off in numbers has been mostly within the older brigade. We bought a lot of yearlings last year but, in terms of older horses, we are down–we got no Shadwell horses this year and there was quite a significant reduction in the Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum horses as well. The Arab-owned horses tended to be above average and gave us more quality so it's been quite tough filling that gap but, so far, we have been hanging on in there.

BS: How have you adapted to fill that gap and remain so competitive?

MJ: We have quite a number of empty boxes but are looking to get them filled. We realised four or five years ago that we were buying less and less yearlings and it was all snowballing downwards. We decided that we needed to get the number of speculative purchases back up and we made a concerted effort to buy a minimum of 55 yearlings last year. We did that and got the majority of them sold as well. We have quite a few more horses in our own ownership than we would have had 10 years ago perhaps but it has still been good policy and has paid off well. If we don't have yearlings on the shelf we can't get new owners into the yard.

BS: You bought 55 yearlings last year? They have certainly come through for you on the track.

MJ: We actually bought 72. I think it was a record number for us and, yes, it's risky but, we had absolutely no choice. If you don't have 2-year-olds, you don't have 3-year-olds and, if you don't have 3-year-olds, you don't have older horses. When a yard goes through major fluctuations, like in the past when we were dominated by Darley horses, when they changed their policy it had a big impact on us. When things level out, a yard like ours would usually be made up of 50% 2-year-olds.

BS: I looked back through all of your juvenile winners this season to see what they cost as yearlings. The majority were purchased at 50,000gns or less–some even cost a fraction of that. Can you tell me a bit about the criteria you look for when buying yearlings?

MJ: What you need to remember is that 95% of those horses are bought on spec so we have to be willing to pay for them ourselves which means we can't go out and buy 200,000gns yearlings. We would end up only having five of them if we did that. We've had no choice but to operate at that end of the scale. I'm always explaining to people that these are not the 72 yearlings I wanted the most, but they are the ones I could afford and there's a big difference in that.

I also think we have suffered somewhat in that I have been labelled as a trainer who buys faults. Sometimes we see things at the sales that we wouldn't accept and they still make hundreds of thousands of pounds so maybe I'm only a little more forgiving of things than most but perhaps I'm more forgiving of different things to others. Understandably, an agent has to be able to justify things to an owner so they would be put off by the simple things like toeing in or out, which isn't actually going to have any effect on a horse's ability and little or no impact on it's soundness.

We use things like that as an opportunity to buy a cheaper horse. I say 'we' all the time because it's very much a joint effort between myself and Charlie. We are working on the same criteria in that we're pretty strict on our pedigrees. The mare has to have been rated at least 90, and, or produced something rated at least 90, so we're not buying first foals out of moderate mares. You mentioned that some of those 72 yearlings were quite cheap but, if you looked at all of the pedigrees, nobody would be saying any one of the horses we bought was a freak if it went on to win a Classic. It's there in its pedigree and it has the potential to be a black-type horse.

Interestingly, my vet John Martin sent me an analysis he did on last year's yearling sales. We used to only look at X-rays if we saw something visible on a horse that might be of concern and then we'd check it out. We didn't routinely look at X-rays, even if we were buying at Book 1. However, with so many X-rays being available, we started looking at everything that was on our list. I was getting a feeling during the sales that I wasn't liking this approach–I felt I was missing out on what were good horses because the vets queried things on the X-rays.

John Martin noted that, of the ones he found issues with on the X-rays, one went to the breeze-ups and made a very large profit and there are a couple more that we rejected but they have achieved decent Timeform ratings. That's quite an eye-opener. We're going to delve further but it looks like our old policy was the right one. We're not at the sales to buy a set of clean X-rays–we're there to buy a racehorse.

BS: On that basis, I can only assume a lot of good horses have been turned down by America and Hong Kong because of bad X-rays.

MJ: No end of them. And you get trainers who are forever scoping, blood sampling and listening to hearts. We have an attitude to training that we don't look for a problem that is not there. We only use all of those aids when there is an issue. That used to be our policy at the sales and, although we are only in July, we can already see that we missed a couple of good horses because we looked at their X-rays. We'd have bought them if we hadn't.

BS: So there's truth to that famous saying that you coined…

MJ: I've said it all my life, a Ferrari with flat tyres will still beat a Mini with Pirellis. While soundness is vitally important, we all know how to buy sound horses, and that's by buying slow ones. You don't have to worry about keeping them sound as they will just go slow. The first objective should be to buy a fast horse. Then you can worry about how you're going to train it.

BS: You mentioned that you place a lot of emphasis on what the dams have achieved on the track or as a broodmare but, do you place as much importance on the stallion and are there many that you simply wouldn't touch?

MJ: There are very few. With unproven sires, I like them to be Group 1 winners and I don't tend to buy progeny out of unproven sires who didn't.

BS: That has been an approach that has worked well for you. Gleneagles (Ire) was a young stallion that you supported at the Sportsman's Sale last year when you bought Dornoch Castle (Ire) for €30,000 and he has emerged as one of your best 2-year-olds.

MJ: Those sorts of horses are right up my street and I'm a big fan of sons of Galileo (Ire). There's this myth that Galileo is not a sire of sires. Did they not say the same thing about Sadler's Wells for years and years? Then what happened? He was succeeded by his own son. It has already happened with Galileo, in that Frankel (GB) is his son, and I'm always looking at sons of Galileo, especially middle-distance-winning sons. They are very cheap for what they are.

BS: What will be the plan for Dornoch Castle. Would it be too early to predict how good he is?

MJ: The plan is for him to run in the G2 Vintage S. at Goodwood next week and, yes, it's too early to start predicting how good he can be. We had a couple of bubbles burst last weekend with Crackovia (GB) (Cracksman {GB}) and Killybegs Warrior (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) getting beaten. Lion Of War (GB) (Roaring Lion) was another one. Obviously we think Dornoch Castle is bloody useful. It took me two or three runs to realise how good Attraction (GB) was and Shamardal is probably one of the only horses that I knew was definitely a group horse before I ran him.

BS: And how is Lion Of War after his Newmarket effort? Would it be fair to say he just didn't handle the track?

MJ: I don't know to be honest. I haven't had a chance to talk to Cieren [Fallon] or David Redvers about it. It was a funny race and was run very differently to the two that he had won before that. He has come out of it fine and we'll just have to go back and try again.

BS: I assume you will be active at Arqana next month. Have you started dipping into the catalogue as of yet or what way do you apprach it?

MJ: No, I haven't. When I started out, that criteria with the mares started off with ratings of 70, then it became 75 and it gradually crept up to 90. I rarely look beyond the first dam. I just look at the sire and dam. We have a team that does research for us beforehand and we use Equineline and the Wetherbys ratings book. Then our own team looks at updates or ratings that may not be available. When I am presented with my catalogue with all of that information in it just a few days before the sale, I can go through it very quickly. Charlie and I go through the catalogue independently and we compare our lists. We will debate something that is on one list and not on the other and then we arrive with a final list of horses to go and view. Basically, if they are not on that list, we are not going to buy it no matter how good it looks when we see it at the sale.

BS: That sounds to me that you approach the sales the same way as you approach training in that it is quite a streamlined process. You like to keep things simple.

MJ: Absolutely. Let's say we go to Book 1 at Tattersalls and there's 300 horses on our list, we'll probably follow 280 or more of those horses into the ring, particularly at that sort of sale. The percentage would be smaller at other sales. But there will be very few horses on our list that we'd say we're not going to buy at any price. There might be something we don't like but we'll still follow it into the ring and there have been many good horses come our way down through the years by adopting this method. I always joke about the Cadeaux Genereux (GB) colt I bought in 1994. Of all the yearlings I bought that year, he was the one I'd have happily given back, but he turned out to be Bijou D'inde (GB). There have been several examples of that down through the years where, we didn't love the horse as a physical, but we bought them because they were cheap and had a fantastic pedigree. That's why we're always standing at the rope–we're just bidding on so many.

BS: I was reading the Bletherings column on your website today. There have been a few more entries in recent months. I couldn't help but notice you said the unnamed trainer who orchestrated the boycott at Newbury last week was deserving of a medal.

MJ: I have been a trainer for 30 years and some people will say that I am always moaning but we are reaching a critical point now. Things have been brought to a head with the death of Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum and Khalid Abdullah. Along with Sheikh Mohammed, they have basically propped British racing up for the past 30 years. We saw the news yesterday that Juddmonte sold a Britannia winner to Hong Kong. It's not many years ago that it would be an Arab owner buying a Britannia winner to race in Britain, not the other way around. I think we are in a serious position. Prize-money is critical. Look at what the Japanese have done recently. I have always admired them as they have always been there but, to turn up, almost en masse in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and where all the big money was, and to dominate, it was fantastic for them. We can't just assume that we will always have the best racing and the best bloodstock in Britain because we only have it because the big owners were willing to keep the best stock and the best stallions here. There are just far too many leaving at the moment.

BS: I had a good chat with a top-tier trainer in Ireland recently who described themselves as a pre-trainer for the foreign market and how disheartening it is becoming to see the yard's best prospect being exported season after season given the lack of opportunities for listed/Group 3 horses.

MJ: With Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) on the sidelines, Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) was the highest-rated horse in my yard, but I've just lost him now to America. He hasn't been sold but his owners decided to move him to America because he can win a lot more prize-money there. It's very sad. I don't blame them, of course, but at the same time, I don't want to lose those types of horses from my yard.

BS: It must be hard to contend with that.

MJ: It's impossible to contend with it. I have been very lucky in my early career in that owners turned down what seemed like a lot of money for Mister Baileys (GB) (Robellino) and Double Trigger (Ire) (Ela-Mana-Mou {Ire}). Sheikh Mohammad kept a lot of horses with me as well. But I keep saying to owners, nobody wants to sell when a horse is on the way up and nobody wants to buy when the horse is on the way down. So often I find myself in a position of pushing owners to sell because I know it will be good for them or that it's going to be their best opportunity to get a lot of money. There's me shooting myself in the foot by recommending those horses are moved on and it's not nice. As a nation, we can't go on like that.

BS: If I was to finish on a positive note, Goodwood takes place next week and I know it's a meeting close to your heart.

MJ: Charlie has been doing a huge amount of the entries and placing of horses lately. I have been looking at nice races York or Newmarket and places like that but Charlie has been saying no, that we need these horses on the team for Goodwood. He's very committed and wants to bring a good team to Goodwood. The fact that there's been so much publicity about the fact we have done so well there, it puts the spotlight on us a little bit and the pressure is on to perform next week.

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Lion of War is the latest of three foals and lone scorer out of Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial third Momentus (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), herself a half-sister to stakes-winning G2 Joel S. runner-up Sir John Lavery (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The April-foaled bay's second dam Race For The Stars (Fusaichi Pegasus), who annexed the G3 Denny Cordell Lavarack Fillies S., is kin to four black-type performers–headed by MG1SW sire Hawk Wing (Woodman)–out of GSW Canadian champion La Lorgnette (Val de l'Orne {Fr}). Race For The Stars is also kin to the stakes-winning Alexandrina (Conquistador Cielo), whose two black-type performers include GI Canadian International S.-winning Canadian Horse of the Year Thornfield (Sky Classic).

How about that?! Roaring Lion's son Lion Of War absolutely destroys his rivals at @NewcastleRaces! @Qatar_Racing @CierenFallonJr @Johnston_Racing pic.twitter.com/qQEPlX72nX

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 23, 2022

6th-Newcastle, £6,800, Nov, 6-23, 2yo, 7f 14y (AWT), 1:30.69, st/sl.
LION OF WAR (GB), c, 2, by Roaring Lion
1st Dam: Momentus (Ire) (SP-Eng), by Montjeu (Ire)
2nd Dam: Race For The Stars, by Fusaichi Pegasus
3rd Dam: La Lorgnette, by Val de l'Orne (Fr)
(7,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $9,159. O-Qatar Racing Ltd; B-Andrew Whitlock Racing Ltd (GB); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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1st-Leicester, £7,000, Mdn, 6-11, 2yo, 7fT, 1:23.36, g/f.
LION OF WAR (GB) (c, 2, Roaring Lion–Momentus {Ire} {SP-Eng}, by Montjeu {Ire}) raced off the pace in ninth through the early fractions of this debut. Tanking forward from halfway, the 7-2 chance seized control approaching the final furlong and was ridden out in the closing stages to defeat Zara's Return (GB) (Zarak {Fr}) by a comfortable 2 1/4 lengths, becoming the first winner from the lone crop of his freshman sire (by Kitten's Joy). “He was a monster compared to the rest of the field, he was professional to post and knew his job,” said rider Cieren Fallon. “I let him get into a rhythm and when I asked him for his effort he gave it to me. He's got a nice action and it was quick ground out there, but he wouldn't want it any quicker than it was today. It's a nice start and there's a lot more improvement there.” Lion of War is the latest of three foals and first scorer produced by Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial third Momentus (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), herself a half-sister to stakes-winning G2 Joel S. runner-up Sir John Lavery (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The April-foaled bay's second dam, G3 Denny Cordell Lavarack Fillies S. victrix Race For The Stars (Fusaichi Pegasus), is kin to four black-type performers headed by MG1SW sire Hawk Wing (Woodman). Sales history: 7,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, £3,780.

1ST-TIME STARTER. O-Qatar Racing Ltd; B-Andrew Whitlock Racing Ltd (GB); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston.

A first winner for our World Champion Roaring Lion as Lion Of War makes an impressive debut win for @Qatar_Racing and @Johnston_Racing

The 2yo colt was bred by Andrew Whitlock and bought by @dredvers for just 7,000gns as a yearling.

Congratulations to all connections pic.twitter.com/4qSSGrdulp

— Tweenhills (@Tweenhills) June 11, 2022

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5.40 Windsor, Novice, £13,500, 2yo, f, 5f 21yT
MADAM MACHO (GB) (Camacho {GB}) debuts for Chasemore Farm and Charlie and Mark Johnston and is a half-sister to the G3 Round Tower S.-winning sire Cappella Sansevero. A 220,000gns Book 1 graduate, the April-foaled chestnut gets six pounds from recent winner Katey Kontent (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), a Clive Cox-trained full-sister to the talented listed-winning sprinter El Caballo (GB).

HOW THEY FARED
15.00 Leopardstown, Mdn, €13,500, 3yo, 12fT
Coolmore and Westerberg's hitherto unraced Gulliver's Travels (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the €2-million top-priced colt at Arqana Deauville's 2020 September Yearling fixture, stayed on with relish from off the pace to finish fourth.

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