Charlie Johnston looking forward to Subjectivist’s Saudi return

PA Sport Staff
February 14, 2023 3:19 pm

Six-year-old has not been seen since winning 2021 Gold Cup at Ascot.

Charlie Johnston’s Subjectivist is on course to make a long-awaited return to action in the Red Sea Turf Handicap at the Saudi Cup fixture.

The bay son of Teofilo looked the new dominant force in the staying division when landing the Gold Cup at Ascot in 2021, but his career was then interrupted by an injury that has kept him off the track since.

His comeback will take place at Riyadh at the end of the month, with the six-year-old set to contest a race worth $2.5 million.

There will be over 600 days between Subjectivist’s last start and his performance in Saudi Arabia and Johnston is hopeful that he proves himself to have retained all of his ability after the long layoff.

“It’s been an 18-month rehab journey, so to have come this far is great and we’re all very much looking forward to having him on the track again,” he said.

Joe Fanning and Subjectivist after Ascot victory (Steven Paston/PA)

“It’s a bit of an unknown in the sense we aren’t entirely sure what we have back, and it will be asking a lot to have the same horse that we had 20 months ago. I sincerely hope we do, but we won’t find that out until he runs in Saudi.”

In preparation for the race Subjectivist has undertaken a racecourse gallop at Newcastle, satisfying Johnston and regular rider Joe Fanning, himself on the comeback trail, with his work.

“I was pleased with what I saw at Newcastle. The difficulty with any horse is that you don’t put really put them into the red zone at home, but particularly with a horse of this nature who runs over these distances,” the trainer said.

“We’ve never gone to the distances which he excels over, and we don’t have many 120-rated stayers to work him either, so of course there’s that unknown, but both myself and Joe were pleased with how he went.

“Joe knows the horse better than anyone and he said he got better and better the further he went which obviously bodes well for next weekend.”

Subjectivist at Goodwood (Alan Crowhurst/PA)

Victory in Riyadh would be a huge feat for all involved in the horse, but a satisfactory run would still provide connections with enough hope to carry into the domestic season ahead.

“I’m trying to keep my expectations relatively in check and the main thing is that the horse comes back safe and sound,” Johnston said.

“If he can show that he can at least be competitive at this level, then we know that we’ve still got something to work with moving forwards.

“However, with the greatest respect to what else is in the race, this horse, at his best, is in a completely different stratosphere to the rest of them. The form he showed in any of his last three starts would win this race very comfortably.”

Johnston has recently become the sole licence-holder after a period of joint enterprise with his father Mark who trained the likes of Shamardal, Attraction and Double Trigger.

Mark Johnston (left) and his son Charlie (Alan Crowhrust/PA)

Now the younger Johnston has the chance to guide the career of a great horse of his own, a status Subjectivist will surely earn if he is able to regain his place at the head of the staying table.

“There have been some pretty remarkable training feats from this team over the years. I was a lot less involved with the likes of Attraction, but to bring a horse of this level, with that injury, back after this time away would be a pretty monumental task,” Johnston said.

“Horses of this calibre are very hard to find and we reached a stage two years ago where I was that confident in his ability that I didn’t think there was a stayer in the world that could beat him. It was purely a case of picking which races we wanted to win.

“Those horses come along every 15 or 20 years, so to have nearly lost him was a huge blow, but if we can get him back to anywhere near his imperious best, it would be a huge thrill for us all.”