Euchen Glen's breakthrough Group success in the Cumberland Lodge Stakes at York earlier this month was the first by a Scottish-trained horse at that level in more than seven years.
But for owner-breeder William Johnstone, the roots of that triumph can be traced back much further, almost 60 years in fact, to a chance conversation; not about champion thoroughbreds, but prize-winning chickens.
As an aspiring twenty-something, Johnstone took his first steps into business by running his own general store in the Ayrshire coastal town of Prestwick, three miles up the road from Ayr racecourse, in which his family own a 50-per-cent stake, and the original venue for golf’s Open Championship.
He revealed: “One of my regular customers back then was a gentleman in his mid-70s, always immaculately dressed and very smart. He was a fascinating chap and we would talk about all sorts of things. Once I asked him what he did for a hobby. He explained that he bred these wee hens, which used to clean up in all the local competitions.
“He took me to see them one day. They were absolutely amazing birds, beautiful. But what really intrigued me was that they were all related – brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, cousins, you name it. That got me thinking. If that kind of breeding worked for chickens, then why couldn’t it work with horses?”
The thought stuck with Johnstone, now in his early-80s himself, and has proved a central thread in his lifelong passion for breeding horses at his Bellslea Stud on the outskirts of Ayr.
Euchen Glen is out of Jabbara, a three-time winner at a modest level for Clive Brittain, and a strong, imposing son of 2007 Derby winner Authorized. It is a match Johnstone pinpointed specifically, but also one that turned out to be made in heaven.
He added: “Nureyev and Sadler’s Wells are three-quarter brothers and are two of the best stallions there’s been. So what I was trying to do, and it all goes back to those days of the chickens, was bring Nureyev and Sadler’s Wells blood back together. I was once told that you should always breed the best with the best, and then hope for the best!
“Jabbara is a grand-daughter of Nureyev, and I sent her to a stallion I could afford at the time, Authorized, because he’s a grandson of Sadler’s Wells. The first foal she had by Authorized was Sir Chauvelin, who’s also turned out to be a very good horse. The second was Euchen Glen.”
His name comes from a small river near to the Dumfriesshire village of Sanquhar, where a teenage Johnstone would several of his summers.
“It’s actually spelt Euchan, with an 'A' rather than an 'E', and pronounced ‘Yoe-kun’,” he adds. “Indeed, I owned another horse called Euchan Glen, who won six times for Richard Whitaker and then John Wilson, in the late-1980s and early-1990s, and one I bred called Euchan Falls.
“When Jim Goldie’s wife, Davina, asked if I’d decided upon a name for the horse, I shouted back across the yard ‘It’s Euchan Glen’. I didn’t write it down. Davina registered the name, but she must’ve thought it sounded like an E instead of an A, so that’s how it ended up being spelt the way it is. I don’t mind, though. It’s been lucky for us.”
Johnstone is indebted to the advice and expertise of Ieuan Pritchard, head vet at the Rainbow Equine Hospital in Malton. Under his guidance and treatment, Euchen Glen has not only made a full recovery from the tendon injury sustained during his all-the-way win in the 2018 John Smith’s Cup at York; he’s returned to the track this season better than ever at the age of seven.
That’s a fact underscored by his two most recent victories, both under regular rider Paul Mulrennan; firstly in last month’s Old Borough Cup at Haydock and then last Friday’s rerouted Cumberland Lodge, a performance which has seen his official mark climb to a career-high 109.!
Euchen Glen and owner William Johnstone after recent success at Haydock Park
Johnstone, who spent much of his professional career in the care home sector, said: “Ieuan has been absolutely marvellous. We sent Euchen Glen to him for a couple of weeks to take a look at the horse, assess the injury and work out the best way to treat it.
“While it was not an insignificant injury, we were always hopeful Euchen Glen would recover from it given time. But it’s thanks to Ieuan that he’s been able to come back from two years off that track and perform the way he’s doing now.”
Goldie was keen to have a crack at Stradivarius in last Saturday’s Long Distance Cup at Ascot, but Johnstone and son Richard, who owns a half-share in Euchen Glen, weren’t as keen on forking out the £22,000 supplementary fee.
Instead, their pride and joy is being prepared for an alternative assignment in Berkshire – the Group 3 St Simon Stakes at Newbury this Saturday.
Euchen Glen hasn’t been sent off shorter than 14-1 in any of his last seven starts and Goldie, who won the Group 3 Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle in 2013 with his home-bred sprinter Jack Dexter, expects punters to continue to overlook his stable star.
He said: “Euchen Glen is an under-rated horse, most definitely. I’ve been telling people for long enough that he’s seriously talented, but if they choose not to listen, that’s up to them.
Euchen Glen bags a first Group race for Scotland for seven years
“I’m sure there will be plenty of people who look at the York race and say the form is rubbish because the odds-on favourite (the previously unbeaten St Leger winner Logician) bombed out. Euchen Glen will also have to carry a Group 3 penalty at Newbury, so my guess is he’ll go off at double-figure odds again.
“The handicapper has put him up only 2lb, to 109, for winning at York, so obviously he didn’t think it was a great race either! But he beat a pretty reliable horse in Desert Encounter, who’s rated 111, by half-a-length off level weights.
“It was a deliberate ploy to race wide down the far side, then tack over to the near rail once they turned in. Paul stacked them up superbly and they all fell into the trap.
“We went head-to-head with Logician and made him try to come around us, which for whatever reason he couldn’t, and saw him off. Then the stalker (Desert Encounter) came to have a go at us and we saw him off, too.
“For me, it was more like a 112 performance and maybe even 114. I guess we’ll find out who’s right at Newbury, because if he wins that under a penalty then he’s got to be worthy of that sort of mark.”
Johnstone, meanwhile, is dreaming of more big days ahead with
Annandale. The son of Australia built on a highly encouraging debut at the Ayr Gold Cup Festival to win second time up at Bath last Wednesday.
“He’s my Derby horse for next year,” his owner adds, only half-jokingly. “I’m not sure whether Mark Johnston (Annandale’s trainer) thinks that way, he’s not said anything to me about the Derby, but for now that dream is alive!"
Annandale (right) full of beans as a yearling at Johnstone's stud in Ayr