Charlie Johnston takes over licence at Kingsley Park

Charlie Johnston has already enjoyed winners in his own name after father Mark, the winningmost trainer in the history of British racing, relinquished his role in the joint training partnership.

Last year, Mark Johnston became the first and only trainer to saddle 5,000 winners in Britain. Son Charlie, a qualified vet, joined the team on a full-time basis in 2016 before joining his father on a joint training licence last year. As a partnership they trained 176 winners in Britain.

Despite relinquishing his role in the partnership, Mark remains heavily involved in the Middleham operation as Charlie's assistant. "I'm stepping out of the licence as I didn't think that worked all that well, but otherwise nothing changes and I'm still there full-time," Mark Johnston told the Racing Post. "I'm getting messages about my retirement, but I haven't retired!"

Charlie updated La Pulga's owners last week, confirming that on a day-to-day basis, very little would change and that the roles they had last year under the joint licence are going to be much the same in 2023, but from now on the horses will run solely under Charlie's name.