Mark Johnston pictured at Royal Ascot 2020

All Weather round-up: Mark Johnston horse to follow and Lingfield preview

By Richard Mann

Horse Racing

Fri February 19, 2021 · 4y ago

Johnston camp can dream big

I've always liked this time of year: the nights are slowly but surely pulling out and the air has a spring-like scent that reminds us Cheltenham is just around the corner, the Lincoln, too. If ever there was a winter of discontent, it was this one. But better days are coming.

For Flat trainers, owners, jockeys and fans, this is a time for dreaming, for imagining the impossible and looking towards the summer with hope and excitement.

If you’re a trainer lucky enough, or naive enough, to think you have a Guineas horse housed in your stables, now is the time for believing. It’s just the same, if like me, you’re clutching onto a pile of antepost slips for this year’s Classics in the surety that a week in the Mediterranean is laying amongst them.

Trainer Mark Johnston doesn’t strike me as a prolific antepost punter, or a Marbella sun-worshipper, but he knows a Classic horse when he sees one and I’d love to know just what was going through his mind when Sea The Shells made a sparkling winning debut at Wolverhampton on Wednesday.

The Sea The Stars colt made his belated racecourse introduction in the Get Your Ladbrokes Daily Odds Boost Novice Stakes and in terms of a first day at the office, connections couldn’t have wished for anything better as the bay stretched six and a half lengths clear in the closing stages.

In fact, the winning distance might have been further still had the newcomer not ran noticeably green in the early exchanges, until snapping onto the bridle and moving through the latter stages of the contest in the manner of a smart performer.

Jockey Franny Norton was evidently at pains not to give Sea The Shells a hard race, but his mount was full of running as he put daylight between himself and an admittedly modest bunch of rivals in the final furlong and it will be interesting to see where this Derby entrant rocks up next.

Charlie Johnston, assistant to his father, said afterwards: “He’s a horse we've always liked. He’s from a good pedigree and has the physique, so it was good to see him deliver on the racecourse.

“There was a moment three (furlongs) out to two out where he was quite green and came under quite stern pressure and probably looked in trouble briefly.

“Then the penny dropped and he really powered away. That would maybe make us lean towards getting a bit more experience in a similar kind of race at some point in March, and then hopefully he can be ready to step up into better company when the turf comes around in April.

“There’s lots to look forward with him.”

Whether a stab at the Derby, or a Classic trial in the spring, might be tilting at windmills remains to be seen, but this is clearly a colt of some potential and he should make into a high-level handicapper at the very least.

On that line of thought, Glorious Goodwood could quite conceivably be a meeting where Sea The Shells pops up, though Johnston boasts a terrific record in the 1m2f handicap for three-year-olds at Newmarket’s July meeting and the Middleham maestro might already have half an eye on that valuable prize with a horse who we should be hearing plenty more of.

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Varian colt has Swagger

While not wanting to get too carried away at a time of year when plenty of bubbles will soon be burst, I’d be hopeful we will see another smart performance when Invincible Swagger makes his second start in the Get Your Ladbrokes Daily Odds Boost Novice Stakes at Lingfield on Saturday.

Roger Varian has introduced plenty of nice types in the last few months, but I’m not sure too many boast as much potential as this son of Invincible Spirit who is certainly bred for the job and won at the first time of asking at Kempton last month.

Trainer Roger Varian

The three-year-old looked all at sea for much of that seven-furlong contest, but he picked up in impressive fashion once the penny had dropped and was comfortably on top at the finish.

He is clearly in need of more experience, but if he can prove good enough to see off Godolphin representative and Kempton runner-up Silent Film, while conceding 7lb, Varian will be able to make some grand plans for the summer.

That race promises to be one of the All Weather highlights on Saturday, but the Betway Handicap offers close to £12,000 to the winner and Myseven looks the obvious one having completed the hat-trick when running down the reopposing Furzig last time.

Elsewhere, I didn’t think the lightly-raced Raasel did a lot wrong when losing out to Show Me A Sunset at Chelmsford and I suspect I’ll be backing him to go one better in the concluding Heed Your Hunch At Betway Handicap.