charlie johnston
trainer
Born on October 4, 1990, Charlie Johnston is the elder son of Mark and Deirdre Johnston. Charlie grew up in Middleham and was fascinated by horses and all aspects of his father’s training business.
From an early age, he rode out with the string and soon became determined to follow in his father’s footsteps as a trainer. Like Mark, he studied Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow.
A student of form and of pedigrees, Charlie began working fulltime with Johnston Racing in 2016, though even before then he was a valued member of the Johnston Racing sales team. Indeed, it was Charlie who acquired the Goup 3 winner Rose of Kildare for just €3,000 in September 2018.
Since then, Charlie’s responsibilities within the yard have included preparing the daily work list, booking jockeys, planning gallops and representing the stable on the racecourse; in discharging these tasks, and others, he has demonstrated his worth to the yard and, after completing the required BHA modules, he gained his licence and began training with Mark under a training partnership on January 1, 2022.
The facilities include three separate grass gallops, plus an all-weather Tapeta gallop; an equine swimming pool; covered, automatic exercisers; five lunging rings; top-quality individual boxes; weighbridges; and starting stalls to practise breaking quickly. There are numerous turn-out paddocks among the 270 acres of land.