Align The Stars

The five-year-old has built a career record of 5 wins and 12 places from 25 races, winning roughly 1 in every 5 outings — a solid return at the level it competes. Crucially, those wins have come at the right moments. In the summer of 2024, Align The Stars won three times in the space of a few weeks, landing a couple of top-tier Class 2 races at Haydock and Goodwood in consecutive months. That is not a horse fluking its way around the lower grades; that is a horse beginning to realise what it is capable of. And Johnston was candid that the year before had involved doing perhaps too much too soon, chasing bonus schemes rather than letting the horse find its feet. Come back fresh, and it clicked.

The numbers around trip tell a clear story. Align The Stars has won 4 of its 13 races over a mile and six furlongs to two miles — nearly 1 in every 3, a win rate that jumps well above its overall average. At shorter distances, it simply does not land the same punches. Johnston has spoken openly about wanting a race that puts a real premium on stamina — the St Leger has been mentioned, as has the Ascot Gold Cup further down the line — and the form backs that instinct up entirely.

Jockey Joe Fanning has been the regular partner, riding in 16 of the horse's 25 races and partnering it to 3 of its 5 wins. That is a 19% win rate together, roughly 1 win in every 5 rides, and that kind of continuity matters — Fanning knows how the horse travels and when to ask the question. Johnston's yard has sent out 131 winners this season alone, so Align The Stars is operating in a busy, high-functioning operation, and yet it still stands out. The horse raced just yesterday and, as of this week, has a win at Newcastle to its name from 27 June 2026.

Johnston has compared Align The Stars to Subjectivist, a horse that went on to win the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. That is a serious benchmark to set, and it is the kind of thing a trainer only says out loud when he genuinely believes it.