Pole Star

Those Haydock wins came quickly back-to-back, in late May and early July 2025, with the second of them coming at Class 2 level — one of the better races you'll find outside the very top tier. Johnston's assistant Jock Bennett admitted the team thought Pole Star might be beaten coming into the final turn, but added something revealing: once this horse gets into a fight, he finds more. That's not a small thing. Plenty of horses with ability will fade when things get difficult; a horse that responds to a battle is a different prospect.

The broader picture is slightly more complicated. Pole Star has not won since that Haydock victory in July 2025, and his last six results — two of which were finishes outside the top ten — suggest he hasn't been at his sharpest. Johnston himself noted the horse looked rusty on a recent comeback run. But the trainer's tone was firmly optimistic: he mentioned entries at the Guineas meeting at Newmarket and the Chester Cup, and said plainly that he wouldn't be surprised to see Pole Star land a big one this season. Jockey William Buick, who rode him, suggested dropping back in distance might help unlock him again.

What we have, then, is a horse that operates at a serious level — 7 of his 14 races have been at Class 2 — and has already shown he can win at that standard when conditions suit. The yard itself is in formidable shape, having sent out 131 winners already this season. If Johnston can get Pole Star back to somewhere resembling his Haydock form, the bigger targets he has in mind don't look fanciful at all.