 |
|
| Staff Writer |
 |  |
Britain's winning most trainer hopes to saddle his stable stars, The Last Lion and Rose of Kildare, over the next few months, if they prove they can compete in the region.
As the carnival kicks off, with the Al Maktoum Challenge R1, Johnston knows he has his work cut out for him with two possibilities for the season. He speaks to Ten Furlongs about his possible carnival runners and how much his lifetime association with the Maktoum family means to him
Q: You have two horses invited for the DWCC – Rose of Kildare and The Last Lion. Are both expected to race in the region. Could you please elaborate on your plans for them in Dubai and Riyadh? Considering Rose of Kildare is Qatari-owned, are there any plans for her to race in Qatar?
A: The Last Lion has been returned to training after five years at stud. He has had two runs and, although showing promise, he is not running up to his previous standards and has not won yet. He will not travel to Dubai until he has shown some good form in the UK.
Rose Of Kildare is also coming back from more than a year off and so will have to show us that she has retained all her ability before traveling to Dubai.
Q: If they are traveling to the region, please tell us about when they ship out, etc?
A: No plans have been made yet.
Q: Please tell us about Rose of Kildare and what did you think of her last race – Gr.2 T von Zastrow Stutenpreis?
A: Rose of Kildare fractured her pelvis in her last race so ran remarkably well considering. I think she is a very good filly, capable of winning a Group 1 if we can get her back to her best.
Q: How did you train a horse that has been out of his training regimen for the last five years and what did you think of his last race?
A: When a horse has been off for so long you have to be very careful to try and avoid injury while the bone is being reconditioned for racing. We extended every stage of our normal training regime with The Last Lion. He had a full five months of work before his first race this year.
Q: What are your plans for these horses in 2022 for the rest of the year?
A: The Last Lion has been gelded now and, hopefully, he will race throughout the year and find the level where he is competitive. If he proves to be good enough, I hope he will travel to the Middle East. With Rose of Kildare, our target is Group races. At some point, she will return to stud to be covered. That might be next spring.
 |
Q: What was your most exciting 2021 win? And why? Please tell us about your all-time favorite horse and why is he/she your favorite?
A: By far the most exciting race for me in 2021 was Subjectivist’s win in the Ascot Gold cup. He had won the Dubai Gold Cup very impressively in March but we could not be certain that he would be as dominant in one of the strongest Ascot Gold Cup fields that we have seen in years. As it turned out, he won by 5 lengths in a very similar style to that of his Dubai win. It was a tragedy that he was injured and unable to race again this year.
My all-time favorite horse was the filly Attraction who won five Group Ones for us in 2004/5. She became famous for the fact that she had very poor conformation of her front legs and a resultant unusual action but it didn’t stop her running. She was a very tough and consistent horse and gave us a huge amount of pleasure.
When HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum visited our stable in 2005, after he had watched his horses on the gallops, I asked if there were any horses he particularly wanted to see. He said, ‘I want to see ‘the legs’, Attraction’s front legs’. He had heard so much about this filly with the poorly conformed front legs that he wanted to see for himself.
The late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum later owned two of her best
progeny, Elarqam and Maydanny. Maydanny is now in Dubai and may well be racing there this year.
Q: You are an inspiration to so many, who inspires you and where do you hope to see yourself and your stables in 10 years?
A: Looking back on the years leading up to my becoming a trainer, I think I was most inspired by the great Jump trainer, Martin Pipe. Martin had no background in racing and he was not constrained by tradition or the way things had always been done. He was willing to try new things and developed his methods. I like to think I adopted the same approach. In 2022 my son Charlie joins me as a joint license holder. Charlie has been working full time in the business for the last five years and he brings new drive and new ideas to the business. I will be remaining in the business for the foreseeable future but, in 10 years, I am sure Charlie Johnston will be running Johnston racing and I hope it will be more successful than ever.
I hope Charlie will be as regular a visitor to the Middle East as I have been and that he will continue our long association with the Maktoum family and others from the region.