Charlie Johnston lets bookies take the pain for repair bill

Breaking the screen on your mobile phone is not only a frustrating experience but a costly one – unless your name happens to be Charlie Johnston.

With 15 minutes to kill while he waited for his phone to be fixed recently, Mark Johnston’s son and assistant trainer took a stroll into the Ripon branch of William Hill and was only too delighted to see 5-2 being offered on Iffraaz, trained his dad, winning at Yarmouth by more than a length.

Never one to miss an opportunity - as befits a man whose father never stops spying chances to win - Johnston saw the chance for the generous local bookie to pay for the bulk of his £70 repair bill.