Charlie Johnston’s Dear My Friend looks to extend an excellent winter into the spring as he bids for the BetMGM All-Weather Championships Mile Handicap at Newcastle.

The four-year-old is unbeaten in four runs on the all-weather, winning the Listed Burradon Stakes on Good Friday last year before embarking on a top-level turf campaign.

He may not have made the grade in the Dante, the Derby or the Hampton Court, but since returning to a synthetic surface at the beginning of this year, he has been unstoppable.

After taking a mile handicap at Newcastle on New Year’s Day, the gelding then landed the Listed Tandridge Stakes at Lingfield in February and the AWC Mile Trial Handicap at the same track in March.

Those runs provide him with a standout CV ahead of the BetMGM All-Weather Championships Mile Handicap, where he will carry top weight under Joe Fanning for owners Middleham Park Racing.

“He has been a revelation since we gelded him and cleared up his wind. I think that big, long stride seems to be particularly well-suited to the all-weather and he has literally been imperious this season,” said Middleham Park’s Tim Palin.

“He has gone up a lot in the ratings and, as the saying goes, ‘weight stops trains’, and it could be that the pesky handicapper is his nemesis on Friday. At the moment, I would not swap him for anything.”

There is a French contender in Yann Barberot’s Fast Raaj, who has acquitted himself well this year when finishing a close second in the Prix Saonois at Cagnes-Sur-Mer and then winning the Prix Montjeu at Chantilly.

Both of those runs were on all-weather surfaces and inspired the decision to cross the Channel and try the horse over a straight mile.

Barberot said: “Fast Raaj has run well at Chantilly, Deauville and Cagnes-sur-Mer, so we decided to seize the opportunity to run, as he qualified for this race.

“He has never run over a straight mile, so that is a question mark, but he’s a good horse who adapts well to all-weather surfaces. He has the right profile to be competitive in the race.”

Clive Cox’s Kingdom Come was third to Dear My Friend and McLean House in the AWC Mile Trial Handicap and was then the winner of the Lincoln Trial Handicap at Wolverhampton when last seen earlier this month.

“He put in a very nice performance in the Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton, coming from off the pace, and is very much at home on the all-weather surfaces,” the trainer said of the bay.

“It will be his first time at the track but, if he can translate his recent form, he should run a competitive race.”

McLean House also renews the rivalry from that Lingfield outing and will line up for trainer Andrew Balding in the contest.

He said: “He has been very consistent this winter over seven furlongs and a mile. I think Dear My Friend will be very tough to beat, but we’ll give it our best shot.”

King Power Racing have two entrants in Fantastic Fox and Greatgadian, both of whom are trained by Roger Varian and come into the race in good form, having fared well on the all-weather throughout the winter.

Alastair Donald, racing manager to the owners, said: “When Fantastic Fox wins, he looks very good. He slightly lost his way last year but a return to the all-weather and drop back to a mile has seen a rejuvenated horse.

“He has been impressive this season and we meet Dear My Friend on much better terms.

“It has been a bit frustrating that Greatgadian hasn’t won this winter because he has not run a bad race.

“Occasionally, he gets called a few bad names, but I think he is pretty genuine. He just has to have a really fast pace and hit the line at the right moment. He is definitely on a mark to win a good race.”

Julie Camacho’s Symbol Of Light was second to Dear My Friend at Lingfield in January and has been aimed at this contest for some time.

Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant, said: “This race has been his target all winter and we are looking forward to running him.

“He has had a decent campaign without winning, which is frustrating, but hopefully he will go well again.

“The weight pull with Dear My Friend is in our favour compared to New Year’s Day, but that horse has been winning cannily in my opinion and will keep finding.”

Gold Cup hero Subjectivist will stand at the Skelton family’s Alne Park Stud next year.

The six-year-old was a brilliant winner of the Royal Ascot showpiece in 2021, adding to his previous big-race victories in the Prix Royal-Oak and Dubai Gold Cup.

A career-threatening tendon injury sidelined Subjectivist for the best part of two years following his Gold Cup heroics, but he did finish an honourable third in his bid for a second victory in the two-and-a-half-mile contest this summer before being retired.

He will now be readied for a stallion career in Warwickshire in 2024 with a stud fee of £4,000.

Alne Park Stud director Grace Skelton, wife of leading National Hunt trainer Dan, said: “The addition of Subjectivist to our stallion roster is a huge leap forward for Alne Park Stud. To stand a stallion of this calibre is an immense honour.

“He will stand at an introductory fee of £4,000. We firmly believe that keeping this exceptional stallion in the UK is a real boost to British breeders and we hope that he will see plenty of support in his debut season.”

Subjectivist was initially trained by Mark Johnston, before his son Charlie took over the licence, and he added: “I always say that, when placing horses, the opposition trumps all other factors. But, very rarely, you come across a horse where the opposition isn’t a factor at all. Subjectivist was such a horse.

“In 2021, I truly believed that there wasn’t a horse in the world that could beat him at two miles or more, in any ground.

“There is less and less need for British NH (National Hunt) breeders to travel to Ireland and, with the incentives on offer in the UK, perhaps the Irish breeders will be thinking of coming over here!”

Charlie Johnston was brimming with pride after seeing Subjectivist run an admirable race in defeat in his bid for a second Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

The six-year-old was a spectacular winner when breaking Stradivarius’ stranglehold on the two-and-a-half-mile showpiece in 2021, but has suffered his fair share of injury woes since and at one stage looked more likely to retire than make it back to Berkshire.

He was well beaten on his return from the best part of two years off the track in Saudi Arabia in February, but looked more like his old self when third in the Dubai Gold Cup in March, giving connections hope that he could complete a fairytale comeback and regain his Gold Cup crown.

After going off a well backed 9-2 shot in the hands of his regular pilot Joe Fanning, Subjectivist set the fractions on the front end and refused to give in once passed by the eventual winner Courage Mon Ami and the gallant runner-up Coltrane late in the day.

In the end he was beaten four and a half lengths into third, but Johnston was nevertheless delighted to see his stable star prove he can still mix it at the highest level.

He said: “He’s run a great race. I was sort of expecting he would win, or we would be out with the washing!

“It’s been a long road and just being here is pretty special. Let’s hope he’s OK and we can go again.

“He has defied everything to be here. So we are delighted, but would always rather be there [on the winner’s podium].”

Fanning added: “He ran a great race, he was just a little bit keen earlier than I wanted to be, but he kept quick and kept finding and he’s ran blinder.

“Given the issues he’s had to come back from it was a good run.”

Meanwhile, Oisin Murphy had no complaints after 11-4 favourite Coltrane lost little in defeat when claiming the silver medal.

He said: “He relaxed great and travelled round super, and I felt I could go and win the race.

“Frankie’s come with me and it was a good battle, and Frankie came out on top.”

Charlie Johnston was brimming with pride after seeing Subjectivist run an admirable race in defeat in his bid for a second Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

The six-year-old was a spectacular winner when breaking Stradivarius’ stranglehold on the two-and-a-half-mile showpiece in 2021, but has suffered his fair share of injury woes since and at one stage looked more likely to retire than make it back to Berkshire.

He was well beaten on his return from the best part of two years off the track in Saudi Arabia in February, but looked more like his old self when third in the Dubai Gold Cup in March, giving connections hope that he could complete a fairytale comeback and regain his Gold Cup crown.

After going off a well backed 9-2 shot in the hands of his regular pilot Joe Fanning, Subjectivist set the fractions on the front end and refused to give in once passed by the eventual winner Courage Mon Ami and the gallant runner-up Coltrane late in the day.

In the end he was beaten four and a half lengths into third, but Johnston was nevertheless delighted to see his stable star prove he can still mix it at the highest level.

He said: “He’s run a great race. I was sort of expecting he would win, or we would be out with the washing!

“It’s been a long road and just being here is pretty special. Let’s hope he’s OK and we can go again.

“He has defied everything to be here. So we are delighted, but would always rather be there [on the winner’s podium].”

Fanning added: “He ran a great race, he was just a little bit keen earlier than I wanted to be, but he kept quick and kept finding and he’s ran blinder.

“Given the issues he’s had to come back from it was a good run.”

Meanwhile, Oisin Murphy had no complaints after 11-4 favourite Coltrane lost little in defeat when claiming the silver medal.

He said: “He relaxed great and travelled round super, and I felt I could go and win the race.

“Frankie’s come with me and it was a good battle, and Frankie came out on top.”

Charlie Johnston was always destined to take over from his record-breaking father Mark at their Middleham base. But to have a realistic Betfred Derby contender through Dubai Mile in his first year with just his name on the licence has certainly exceeded his expectations.

While Johnston senior went close at Epsom with Dee Ex Bee in 2018, finishing second to Masar, the blue riband event was one of only a handful of major races to elude him during a stellar career.

Charlie initially shared the licence with his father last season before Mark took his name off completely, sooner than many thought but done partly through paternal pride so that his son would get the credit he felt he deserved.

Now, with Dubai Mile having won a Group One over 10 furlongs at two in France and run perfectly well in the 2000 Guineas when fifth, Charlie has a real shot at putting the Johnston name on the illustrious Epsom roll of honour.

“I wouldn’t be singing from the roof if he wins having done so in my name, in fact I’d be a bit embarrassed after dad had been trying for 30 years and we won it for the first time without his name on the licence!” said Johnston.

“There’s still no greater race for a trainer to win, I think.

“There’s no race I can win this year that would give me greater assurances that when I go to the yearling sales, people will want to fill this barn again next year and try to find the next one.

“This game is a cycle and you always want people to invest in you, by winning the Derby there is no greater advertisement.”

Dubai Mile is owned by Ahmad Al Shaikh, who himself has had two of his horses finish second at huge prices in recent years – Khalifa Sat at 50-1 behind Serpentine in 2020 and Hoo Ya Mal at 150-1 to Desert Crown last year.

Johnston said: “He’s gone close twice in the Derby at huge prices, so I’m sure he’s going there with huge expectations and he’s great fun to train for.

“He flew a team from his favourite restaurant in London up here and we had a huge lunch with all the staff while watching the (Saint-Cloud) race and he gave prizes out and I don’t think the team has ever felt closer or more involved than he made them.”

Having only cost €20,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale, despite being by Roaring Lion and out of Beach Bunny, who was beaten just a short head by Dar Re Mi in the 2009 Pretty Polly, Johnston has shown he can look beyond the obvious – and feels others may have been put off by Dubai Mile’s big white face.

“We thought we’d got a bargain at £20,000. To us he’s a very good looking horse, but bizarrely a lot of people would be put off by his markings for a start. He’s got so much white about him and he must have had a fight with a fence at some point as a foal as when you take the saddle off, he’s got white marks all over his withers,” said Johnston.

“His pedigree, as is always the case, put us on to him. We’ve been fortunate to have horses for Lady O’Reilly (Beach Bunny’s owner), so would always pay close attention to her horses. Another factor was probably the fact that his stallion was sadly dead at the time, which meant he was never going to get the same support as most first-season sires and he was a weak, backward yearling.

“I’m not going to say we knew right away (he was good) as we buy 70 every year in that price bracket, but am I confident that out of 20 every year we’d find one good one? Yes, but was I confident he was the one? Probably not until he ran in the Royal Lodge, if I’m honest.

“The Royal Lodge (second to The Foxes) looked ambitious at the time, because of his price he’d been astutely placed to win two restricted novices, but I think the handicapper would have said he had no chance going into the Royal Lodge, as did the market. But it was a small field and it was a race we always like to target which led us to roll the dice.

“We’ll be taking the winner on again and a lot of water has gone under the bridge for both since the Royal Lodge. I got the impression up until York they thought he (The Foxes) was a 10-furlong horse and there was talk of the French Derby, whereas we’ve always known where we were going.

“Ahmad was always keen to go for the Guineas and, in hindsight, it was clearly the right decision because there’s been a hell of a lot more interest in him since then than before it. People take him a lot more seriously now.

“I said if he finished in the first six and hit the line strong I’d be delighted and that is exactly what he did. He’d have been fourth in another stride which would have been lovely but knowing he wants further, we couldn’t have wished for much more.”

Since the Guineas, John and Thady Gosden’s Arrest has won the Chester Vase on soft ground. His first run since being beaten a head by Dubai Mile in France and yet Dubai Mile is available at a much bigger price.

“A lot has been made of our form with Arrest and interestingly he’s about a quarter of the price we are. It’s probably not surprising given John Gosden’s Derby record and ours, but the weather forecast means it should be a good to firm Derby, whether it is or not we’ll wait and see,” said Johnston.

“I’m sure Arrest’s camp are a lot more worried about that than us. We might have won a Group One on heavy, but we’d rather it was quicker as it might inconvenience a few others.”

Of the others, he said: “I have a lot of respect for the (Jessica) Harrington horse (Sprewell), he looks overlooked in the market simply because Aidan (O’Brien) doesn’t get beaten in that (Leopardstown) trial and if you do beat him, you must have a good one.

“It’s been a bit different this spring as the two trials you’d expect Aidan to win he’s been beaten in, with the (John) Murphy horse (White Birch) winning the other (Ballysax) – and he ran a nice race at York (second to The Foxes).

“It should always be the best test of a three-year-old and all the ones who deserve to be there will be there. Does 14-1 represent our chance? It probably does, it might underestimate him a little.

“There’s no horse in this race that we know is better than ours, on ratings we’re right there with them all. He’s a Group One winner who ran a good trial over an inadequate trip in the Guineas, so in that sense I think we’ve got a rock-solid profile.

“The fact he was a €20,000 yearling and a bit more unfashionable probably explains why he’s 14-1 rather than 4-1. There’s nothing in there that scares me or we have 7lb to find with. If he improves for the trip, which we all expect he will, then he goes there with a good chance.

“I don’t feel it has added any pressure, it’s great to have a horse like this, you need them any time but to have one the first year the licence is in my name is great.”