Mark Johnston | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘We Are Going To Get Relegated If We Keep Selling Our Best Strikers’

There have been a lot of football analogies in racing this week. Most have centered around a hypothetical situation whereby the Kevin De Bruynes or the Erling Haalands of this world were leaving the Premier League for sunnier-and more lucrative pay packets-in foreign leagues.

For all the Manchester City fans out there, you can relax, as the analogy was simply fictional. However, there is nothing fictional about the mass exodus of talent facing British and Irish racing.

Ger Lyons is better qualified than most to speak about the problem. Lyons, who has held a training licence for over 25 years, has built his impressive Glenburnie Stables in County Meath into one of the best training facilities in Ireland.

He secured a breakthrough Classic success in 2020 when Siskin stormed to Irish 2,000 Guineas glory at the Curragh while Even So provided the stable with its second when landing the Irish Oaks in the same season.

From losing some of his best prospects to the international market, poor prize-money and what he describes as a lack of opportunities for good horses in Ireland, Lyons makes for a fascinating interviewee in this week's Q&A.

Brian Sheerin: You have trained 41 winners this season–only Aidan and Joseph O'Brien have managed a greater tally at this juncture–and you have already surpassed the €1 million mark in prize-money at Glenburnie. Everything is on course for another big season.

Ger Lyons: Everything is going steady away. We haven't run many 2-year-olds so far this season and I have had to be patient with them. The quality seems to be good as we are holding our own in stakes races which has always been the objective for us.

BS: While things have been going well on the track, I know from speaking with you at length just over a month ago that you have major concerns for Irish racing. You also described yourself as “a pre-trainer” for international handlers due to the exodus of high-class horses to the foreign market. Would you care to expand on that?

GL: Sadly, our prize-money is very ordinary and what I would describe as the 'good horse' is being neglected, hence why they are all being sold to continue their careers abroad. From the top owners right down the ranks, no-one is able to turn down Australia, Hong Kong or America when they come calling. It's disappointing to have to sell our best prospects but the economics of it all makes sense. Not only that, but the owners can see the earning power for their horses in America and we have seen countless examples of horses being moved out there in pursuit of greater prize-money. Masen (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is the most recent horse to leave my yard for America. He has won over $300,000 in three runs in America but would have struggled to earn €100,000 in Ireland this season–and that's if he won three races over here, the chances of which would have been very slim as the opportunities just aren't there.

BS: Mark Johnston echoed the same opinion in last week's Q&A. He revealed that the owners of Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), a Group 2-winning 2-year-old who reached a rating of 113 in his 3-year-old campaign, decided to move the colt to America in a bid to win more prize-money. Johnston was keen to point out that he didn't blame the owners but admitted the drain on resources is becoming hard to contend with as a trainer. Do you feel the same?

GL: I certainly don't blame the owners as we all trade. However, if we keep selling our best horses then we are going to be left racing what's left over and our product will lessen every year. If people don't want to watch our best, how will they come and watch lesser quality races and races with small field sizes? This trend needs to be addressed quickly as we are already a long way down a very slippery slope.

BS: Here's the bit that doesn't make sense for me; Mutasarref (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) is a horse who you bought for 95,000gns from Dermot Weld at the Horses-in-Training Sale last October. He was obviously well-bought given he's won three races for you–at Leopardstown, the Curragh and last week at Naas–and has improved 25lbs in the process. However, he's picked up less than €30,000 for those wins at premier tracks and only qualified for that Naas race by virtue of the fact he hasn't won a race worth €15,000 or more.

GL: He's a good example of a good horse not being rewarded with the prize-money he deserves to be winning. He is now rated 105 after that Naas win but look at what he has earned–it's pathetic. Good horses should be rewarded yet we seem to reward mediocrity. In what world should a stakes-placed horse earn the same as a low-grade handicapper operating in the 45-65 bracket? It does here and that's wrong. The strategy [from Horse Racing Ireland] seems to be all about minimum prize-money levels whereas I would have the lower-rated horses earning a maximum figure and it wouldn't exceed €5,000. No handicapper should be earning more than a stakes horse. It's not long ago that a certain rating, say in the 70s, wouldn't get you into a premier handicap. Now it will, which shows how far the standard is dropping. Not only that but, if you are going to reward mediocrity, that promotes cheating but that is another can of worms that I won't open!

BS: There was a story in The Times on Wednesday about how some leading figures in British racing are pushing for a restructuring of the sport that would result in a greater slice of prize-money being channeled to the elite level. It may not be a popular viewpoint but I gather it's one you would agree with?

GL: I was looking at the figures published at the end of last year and it showed that the average prize-money on offer for the premier handicaps was more than that for listed and Group 3 races which is not only astonishing but, in my opinion, wrong. I am also a big believer that our maidens need to be worth more money. You can only win your maiden once and you should be rewarded for doing so, especially because, in order to win a maiden in Ireland, you need to be rated in the mid-80s or above on average. So, when you win your maiden, that is obviously going to limit your chances when you step into premier handicaps. Therefore, the maidens should carry more prize-money.

BS: You mentioned last month that the notion of prize-money in Ireland being strong was a myth. It's hard to argue against that viewpoint when you look at Slan Abhaile (Ire) (Territories {Ire}), who finished fourth in the G3 Anglesey S. and picked up just €2,750 for her troubles. Had she finished third and picked up black-type, she would have won just €5,500, which is still less than what you'd get for winning a 0-65 handicap.

GL: That's exactly my point and to add insult to injury, if she had finished third and picked up that valuable black-type, that would have ruled her out of a lot of listed races going forward as the conditions of most of those races state that horses who placed in group races can't run. The Ingabelle S. on Irish Champions Weekend is certainly one of those races so, while we were only beaten a head for black type in the Anglesey, I felt it was actually a good outcome as we still have the option of those listed races. But again, here is another example of the programme hindering the good horses whereas you can run your low-grade operator every day of the week if you want to.

BS: HRI released its six-month statistics last week. The figure that jumped out at me is that prize-money still hasn't risen to pre-pandemic levels despite the fact that HRI boss Suzanne Eade put prize-money at the top of her priority list when the budget was released in December. Not only that, but the Irish Derby, which is meant to be the flagship race of the season, carried a purse of €1m when it was worth €1.5m before the pandemic in 2019. In actual fact, when High Chaparral (Ire) won the Irish Derby 20 years ago, the race was worth €300,000 more than what it was run for this year.

GL: That speaks for itself and I find they [HRI] try to dress up these reports to convince us that all is rosy in the garden but we are the ones on the playing field and we know the reality of the situation. Look, I was lucky to win two Classics in 2020 [the Irish 2,000 Guineas with Siskin and the Irish Oaks with Even So (Ire) (Camelot {GB})] and both races were worth just €145,000 each to the winner–I've won handicaps worth more. The Ebor for example, which we won with Mustajeer (GB) (Medicean {GB}), was worth €1m. By the way, both of my Classic winners were sold to go abroad!

BS: You have made it clear that you have no interest in training horses below a certain standard. Given the lion's share of the horse population is rated 70 or less, I am interested to know how you go about weeding out the ones who don't make the grade. I know you are a big fan of claimers.

GL: Plenty of people will say, 'it's all right for Ger to say that,' but, like everybody, I do train plenty of low-grade horses–I just choose to move them on and concentrate on the quality. The claimers have been very successful for us and we need a minimum of one a week. Jim Gough claims a lot of my horses and has great fun with them. He actually came over and shook my hand at Naas last week and complimented me on not only supporting those races but for being realistic with price tags that I put on them as well. That allows him to claim them and enjoy them. Just because I don't want to train horses at that level doesn't mean I don't have them. I just choose to move them on. The authorities need to get their heads around the fact that there are hugely positive aspects to claimers and they need to be made more customer-friendly. I think that the claimers are a big addition to the programme and, if I had my way, I would replace a lot of the low-grade handicaps with claimers.

BS: There will also be people who read this and think, 'But Ger, if it wasn't for trading horses, Glenburnie would not have become the behemoth that it is now.'

GL: At the start, horses were much cheaper to buy and the upside to trading them on was much greater. Nowadays, it's virtually impossible to buy the level of horse we were buying at one point for less than €50,000. There are always exceptions but in general the price of horses has escalated beyond all recognition which flies in the face of my prize-money argument.

BS: When you were starting out, and trading horses was necessary to survive, did you ever envisage a situation whereby, once you arrived at the top table, you would still be faced with the prospects of losing your best horses.

GL: In short, no. I always imagined it would be different when we got the good horses but times have changed and, as I said already, even the top owners are sellers now. Sure didn't Aidan [O'Brien] sell a Derby winner [Serpentine (Ire)] to Australia recently? It's very frustrating and I always use the football analogy in that we–and I mean Britain and Ireland here–are the team that keeps selling our best strikers. Sooner rather than later, we are going to get relegated.

BS: In the immediate future, you have some smart prospects to look forward to. Apricot Twist (Ire) (Expert Eye {GB}) looked a potential top-notcher on debut at Naas last week. Could we see her in the Ballyhane S. next Monday?

GL: She's lovely but the race could just come too soon as she only ran last week. I've done very little with her since but when there is a race with such good prize-money, it's imperative that we support it. Barry [Mahon, racing manager at Juddmonte] and I will discuss it and do the right thing by the filly first and foremost.

BS: You won the race last year with Sacred Bridge (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) and, judging by the entries, have been keen to record back-to-back wins. What struck me about your entries is that some of them haven't even run yet so I am presuming you have kept a bit of powder dry for the second half of the season.

GS: We have. As I said, it's important to support such initiatives and hopefully I will have a few runners in the race. I've plenty of bullets to fire in the second part of the season as we have been very disciplined with the babies so far.

BS: It's one thing getting these well-bred fillies to train but another thing altogether managing them to fulfil their potential and achieve the valuable black type that they need before they go to the breeding sheds. You must get huge pleasure out of that aspect of the game?

GL: It's one of the great pleasures of this job and one that I very much enjoy. I always remind myself that these babies could be the dams of my next Classic winners, hopefully. One thing that I have learned that I didn't appreciate at the start is that an ounce of breeding is worth a ton of feeding.

BS: And speaking of high-class broodmare prospects, they don't come much better than Cairde Go Deo (Fr) (Camelot {GB}). I thought she ran a cracker in the Irish Oaks and would be excited to see her step up in trip in time. What are the plans for her?

GL: She's a sweetheart and is slowly developing into what we hoped she would be. I trained her mother and liked her and it was that reason that made me purchase Cairde Go Deo on behalf of Mark Dobbin. Also, the fact that she was by Camelot, the same sire as Even So, made it an easy decision. Hopefully she will stay in training at four, and yes, she should mature into a very good stayer.

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‘We’re Not At The Sales To Buy Clean X-Rays-We’re There To Buy A Racehorse’

Mark Johnston, one of the most successful trainers of the modern era in Britain, joined forces with his son Charlie last winter and things couldn't be going better for the father-and-son team in their first full season holding the licence together.

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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“Double Whammy” for Thompson and Tinnakill Crowns Unforgettable Monday

Most Mondays are utterly forgettable. Not in the case of Ian Thompson, manager at Tinnakill House Stud who, along with his boss Dermot Cantillon, kick-started the week in style after Dornoch Castle (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), bred by the pair, confirmed himself a hugely promising colt in winning unchallenged at Ayr.

Shortly after Dornoch Castle coasted home to win for the second time from as many outings, his trainer Mark Johnston revealed that he has some major ambitions for the 2-year-old, mainly the G2 Vintage S. at Goodwood.

If you thought things couldn't get any better for Thompson and all of the team at Tinnakill, you thought wrong, because this Monday was about to go from memorable to unforgettable.

As if it were written in the stars, just a few hours later, Dornoch Castle's half-brother Claim The Crown (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who Thomson and Tinakill also bred, landed the feature handicap at Ripon.

All of this excitement was provided by Crown Light (GB) (Zamindar), a mare that Cantillon acquired for just 800gns at the Tattersalls Autumn horses-in-training sale in 2013, and the 11-year-old hasn't missed a breeding season on the farm ever since.

Speaking after the success of Dornoch Castle, a 30,000 euros Goffs Sportsman's purchase, Thompson sensed something special could be in store, and said, “Funnily enough, his [Dornoch Castle's] half-brother Claim The Crown runs this evening so it could be a double whammy. He has been very well-backed so it could be one of those days. Let's hope so.”

It certainly was one of those days. A Monday that Thompson and the team will never forget. But the most exciting aspect of it all is that there will be even bigger days ahead, especially in the case of Dornoch Castle.

“It's exciting,” said Thompson. “The great thing about him is that he's bred to get better. He was a fine big horse when he was younger so everything about him would suggest that this is only the beginning for him.

“The female pedigree would be a middle-distance one and you wouldn't really imagine her to be having lots of 2-year-old winners so it makes it even more exciting.”

He added, “This is what it's all about. The buzz before the race and the excitement after he won. You can't beat it–it's what we do it for.”

This wasn't the only momentous moment for those associated with Crown Light. Less than four years after Cantillon bought the mare, her half-sister Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) won the G1 Prix Vermeille. But that's not to say that Crown Light has not been hanging onto the coattail of her half-sister.

She has proved herself worthy of an upgrade in terms of the quality of stallion she has visited every season and a decision to support up-and-coming sire Gleneagles (Ire) is proving to be an inspired one with his son Dornoch Castle emerging as a smart prospect for the Johnston team.

Thompson explained, “We thought Gleneagles was a good young sire and everyone was crying out for a nice son of Galileo (Ire). He was the one with the best credentials and it was a commercial decision to back a young son of Galileo who we thought was going to click.

“She also has an Australia (GB) filly foal and is back in foal to Acclamation (GB). Dermot bought four horses at the horses-in-training sale in 2013, all for relatively small money, and she was just 800gns. She had a decent pedigree but wouldn't have been the best physical.”

He added, “Since we bought her, though, her half-sister [Bateel] won a Group 1 in France so we got the mother of all pedigree updates. Not only that, she has produced stock who look a lot better than she does and, as a result, she has been getting upgraded matings every year. Her progeny are delivering on the racetrack and she's really clicked now so it's very exciting.

“She's very fertile. She's had a foal every single year since she was a 3-year-old. That's the one thing you can't really put a price on when you are buying from the horses-in-training sale as you've no idea how fertile they will turn out to be. It's all down to luck.

“I am involved with seven or eight mares now at this stage. I own a few of them myself but am in partnerships with either Dermot or somebody else with the rest. She's the best of them by a mile.”

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Why Redvers Forgave Conformation Issues to Buy Lion Of War for Just 7,000

Lion Of War (GB) (Roaring Lion) became a TDN Rising Star after bolting up at Newcastle on Thursday but David Redvers, who signed for the colt on behalf of Qatar Racing for just 7,000gns, revealed how he called on the opinion of co-trainer Mark Johnston in a bid to ascertain if he would stand up to training or not.

Redvers revealed he was surprised that Lion Of War was knocked down to him for just 7,000gns at Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Sale, however, he admitted that the colt's front leg was far from the prettiest, which may go some way to explaining the basement sum.

But after getting the seal of approval from Johnston, Redvers was convinced Lion Of War was worth pursuing, and what a bargain he is turning out to be.

Redvers said, “Obviously he had the benefit of a previous outing but he has clearly surprised Charlie and Cieren [Fallon, jockey] by how much he has leapt forward from his debut win which is fantastic. He's bred to get 10 furlongs so, to be doing what he did today at Newcastle so well, it gives us great hope that we might have something a bit special.”

Lion Of War looked a colt of immense promise at Newcastle. His win was tinged in sadness, however, given the Qatar Racing team lost Roaring Lion prematurely due to colic in 2019.

“It's well documented how gastly the whole thing was when we lost Roaring Lion. From Sheikh Fahad down to the lad who looked after Roaring Lion, everyone adored the horse as he had such character,” Redvers said.

“You can see lots of him coming through in his stock and you can see lots of him in Lion Of War with the way that he gallops. When he pricked his ears in the last furlong or two as he was being let down, he looked exactly like his old man. It's obviously quite sad but we are equally blessed to have raced at least one good crop of Roaring Lions and, if it's not this fellow, there will be one in there who will replicate what he did or at least go close to it. He looks the best of them so far and it's just extraordinary that it happens to be from the cheapest purchase.”

Recalling Lion Of War as a yearling, Redvers said that it was the colt's front legs that put most people off. However, Johnston gave him the confidence to buy the horse and now stakes races await.

He said, “It's really quite fascinating. From the side view, he was an absolute miller, a 150,000gns horse. But when he walked towards you, his front legs were not terribly pretty.

“I asked Mark Johnston for his opinion as to whether he could train it and as you can imagine Mark said he most definitely could.

“You could never have imagined that we would get him for that money and it was interesting that we were allowed to by the vendor and the opposition.”

Redvers added, “Conformationally, there was definitely a risk element but what's really fascinating is that Kevin Darley was in Mark's yesterday and took a head-on video of a horse. “We compared the videos to see how he has shaped up and it's amazing how his leg has straightened up. They are still not perfect knees but they are within the acceptable limit.

“They are not slowing him down. I worked for Mark many moons ago and his words to me were, 'I would rather a Ferrari with worn tyres than a Mini Cooper with Pirellis.' We have had hundreds of horses in training over the years and the common denominator between the lame ones and the sound ones was rarely their front-leg conformation.”

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