Why Mark Johnston's sensational year could easily have been even better

Standing in the cramped Deauville unsaddling enclosure moments after Raffle Prize had been just run out of victory in the Darley Prix Morny by Earthlight, Mark Johnston cut the figure of a man who felt he might just be due a change of luck.

At first glance that might smack of a certain lack of gratitude to the racing gods, given that Raffle Prize's win in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes the previous month was one of a staggering 50 successes for the Johnston yard in July.

That relentless consistency meant he had broken his own British record of 47 for the number of winners trained in a calendar month and all but guaranteed that he would set a new mark for the season, something he would duly reach when Bavardages ticked the scoreboard over to 236 at Kempton in late October.