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Mark Johnston has trained thousands of horses for some of the best owners in the world, but he rarely competes at the very highest level and I don’t understand why some people rate him so highly. He’s a good talker and he does well at Hamilton, but that’s about it.
Try saying that on Braveheart’s forum! You would be shot down by the five regulars – ‘chicken and rice’ would no doubt fire a particularly amusing salvo.
I would disagree that he is a ‘good talker’ but he does indeed appear to like the sound of his own voice. He also tolerates people who agree with him but that’s about as far as it goes. The simple linkage between racing and betting appears to be a mystery to him. I think his moto is if it’s good for Johnston it’s good for racing.
I have no idea how anyone could make a consistent profit backing his horses. There appears to be no game plan other than run them as often as possible. He has had success in handicaps down south but that usually involves running more than one horse in the same race. Many of the two-year-olds disappoint after showing initial promise (Mabroor is one notable example this season) and despite considerable Arab backing relatively few of his horses reach listed/Group class.
Nonsense.
He’s a very good trainer, not the best but one of the best. Perhaps the fact that most of his best horses get taken away to join Godolphin might explain his absence from the top races. But he regularly churns out winners and tough horses. If he was left to train his horses instead of disappearing into the blue drain I’m sure he’d win the big prizesBraveheart does not recieve the quality of breeding Stoute, Cecil and O’Brien do. So can’t be expected to come up with Group 1 horses every year.
If you look at 1000 Guineas winner Attraction’s breeding. By Efisio out of a Pursuit Of Love mare. There aren’t many (if any) household names further back in the pedigree either. In fact, she isn’t even 100% thoroughbred. Johnston did tremendously well with her to win numerous Group 1’s.
His 2000 Guineas winner Mister Baileys is by Robellino.
I’d say over the years few trainers have done as well with less prestigeous pedigrees.
Has an outstanding record at Glorious Goodwood too. Yes, he does fire more than one bullet, but hits the target more often.
Value Is EverythingOften has winners on shop-window days such as Derby Day at Epsom (again this year x2) and invariably pulls something out of the hat for Ascot and Goodwood.
He’s extremely professional, very shrewd, a bit of an operator and a highly successful racehorse trainer, however you want to look at it.
From a punting point of view, Mark Johnston does have a knack of pulling out big handicaps with seemingly exposed horses. I always give his horses more than a second look, no matter how creative you need to be to make a case for them.
You also have to admire the gameness that many of his horses show, front-running and seeing off waves of challengers. The downside of this must be the ‘burnout’ factor. Many horses from the stable seem to regress very quickly after a good season, or lose their form altogether. Perhaps they are worked too hard?
I think Johnston believes in running his horses regularly when they are in form. More often than many other trainers seem to do. Therefore a horse is likely to have most of its wins centred around one time span. Going up in the handicap as that happens and reaching an uncompetitive mark quicker (in time if not runs) than a horse having one run every 4 to 6 weeks.
Value Is EverythingThe record of Mark Johnson’s runners at Royal Ascot one year was exceptional. He had several winners. I also remember "top-liners" being taken from him by Godolphin.
Interesting to read his kind of training profile above.
I believe he’s a vet, like Elsworth and, I dare say, one or two others.
I hesitate to feed the troll, but I disagree. I’d say Johnno was as good as any trainer operating in this country, and maybe throughout Europe.
Frustrating, irritating, annoying and difficult to predict, but a superb trainer nonetheless.
That treble Grimes alludes to came with exposed horses in three consecutive handicaps – a trio of the toughest handicaps staged in this country.
Grimes,
Having had a couple of horses in training with David Elsworth and remained on friendly terms with him ever since, I’m fairly sure that he never had any formal training as a vet. No denying he was generally more comfortable dealing with animals than with humans though!
AP
Grimes,
Having had a couple of horses in training with David Elsworth and remained on friendly terms with him ever since, I’m fairly sure that he never had any formal training as a vet. No denying he was generally more comfortable dealing with animals than with humans though!
AP
Well, AP, thanks for that. I wonder where the journalist got that from. It seems highly likely you’d know David Elsworth a lot better than most. I would normally suspect it was my memory, but in this case, I blame the journalist, as it stuck in my mind. Still, I could be wrong, and its the fault of my memory and not him.
"No denying he was generally more comfortable dealing with animals than with humans though!"
Him and a good proportion of the rest of mankind, I suspect. Spoken like a good Christian misanthrope!
I hesitate to feed the troll, but I disagree. I’d say Johnno was as good as any trainer operating in this country, and maybe throughout Europe.
Frustrating, irritating, annoying and difficult to predict, but a superb trainer nonetheless.
That treble Grimes alludes to came with exposed horses in three consecutive handicaps – a trio of the toughest handicaps staged in this country.
I thought he had even more winners, Max. But, as you say, to get them in handicaps and at R.A. (no, not the Senior Regiment, right of the line, in this case – 23934342, Gnr
Becke, retd).
Grimes,
Given what I know about his career before I met him in 1979, I can’t see where he’d have fitted in any training. He was apprenticed to Alec Kilpatrick by the time he was 18, having left school with no qualifications (or none that he ever mentioned!).
He was a jockey/stable lad for almost 15 years before he effectively started training as assistant to the permanently inebriated Ricky Vallance, from where he was warned off in 1974 or 75 and spent three or four years working the street markets to build up a stake to start out on his own. I became an owner with him in his second season with a full licence, and was actually sat with him at Newmarket Sales when he bought the horse that made his reputation – Heighlin. We bought a much less successful horse for me about an hour later!
AP
I remember him as a jockery, also I think he was on the cover of one of the NH Timeforms in the 1970s, leading the field over the flight of hurdles in front of the stands at Plumpton.
At least, I think it was him, I don’t have the volume to hand.
Braveheart does not recieve the quality of breeding Stoute, Cecil and O’Brien do. So can’t be expected to come up with Group 1 horses every year.
If you look at 1000 Guineas winner Attraction’s breeding. By Efisio out of a Pursuit Of Love mare. There aren’t many (if any) household names further back in the pedigree either. In fact, she isn’t even 100% thoroughbred. Johnston did tremendously well with her to win numerous Group 1’s.
His 2000 Guineas winner Mister Baileys is by Robellino.
I’d say over the years few trainers have done as well with less prestigeous pedigrees.
Has an outstanding record at Glorious Goodwood too. Yes, he does fire more than one bullet, but hits the target more often.
I appreciate he has trained a couple of Classic winners but that is only one more than Pam Sly. Had he have achieved double figures with a succession of ‘equine paupers’ it might have been a little more significant.
He may not train the most regally bred bloodstock associated with Godolphin/Ballydoyle/Abdullah but allied to his vast numbers I would hesitate to name half a dozen stables in the country with greater potential firepower.
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