'It's been a good year for us' - Brett Johnson equals career-best season

Thursday: Southwell

Rocking Ends will be targeted at Lingfield’s Winter Million meeting next month after Brett Johnson’s two-year-old handled a step up in trip to take the 6f nursery under William Carson.

The son of Havana Gray recorded the third win of his juvenile campaign on his first attempt at six furlongs, having contested warm events such as the Brocklesby at Doncaster and the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot over 5f, and will be aimed at a £22,000 handicap on January 21.

Johnson said: “Willie said Rocking Ends couldn’t have done much better and he would have got even further because he was running away from them.

"He was very green when he ran in the Brocklesby. I’ve never got one ready so quick, but we knew he was something half-decent because he was beating all of the older horses at home.

“I know we haven’t got much in the yard, but two-year-olds still don’t beat older horses, so we knew we had something there.”

Rocking Ends’s win equalled Johnson’s career-best of 13 winners in a season, which he achieved in 2021 and 2007.

“I’d like to get one more to break my record, but we’ve only got a couple of weeks to go and I’ve got nothing left," the Epsom-based trainer added. "We’ve got about ten in work, so it’s been a good year for us really.”

Beggar buy pays off

Blind Beggar, bought for 45,000gns by Martin Dixon for Mick Appleby, went some way towards beginning to repay that fee when taking the 6f handicap.

The four-year-old, formerly with Ger Lyons, was steered to a winning stable debut by Theodore Ladd. Politics justified 6-5 favouritism in the following 6f handicap to complete a quickfire double for Appleby.

Results, replays and anlaysis

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