Align The Stars

The headline numbers are solid without being flashy: 4 wins and 11 places from 23 races, a win rate of roughly 1 in every 6 outings overall. But zoom in on what Align The Stars does over longer distances — a mile and six furlongs to two miles — and the picture sharpens considerably. Over those trips he has won 4 of his 12 races, which is 1 in every 3. That is not a coincidence. That is a horse telling you exactly what he wants to do and how far he wants to run. Johnston believes part of the reason last season was underwhelming is that the horse was asked to race too often and too soon, chasing an early-career bonus. He arrived this year fresh, and it showed.

His first three wins came in a concentrated burst across the summer of 2024 — Thirsk in June, then a top-level Class 2 at Haydock in July, then another Class 2 at Goodwood in August. That kind of momentum through the top tier of British racing is exactly what you want to see from a horse with bigger ambitions. Johnston has mentioned the St Leger and the Ascot Gold Cup in the same breath as this horse, which tells you everything about the ceiling he believes exists here. His most recent win came at Kempton Park in late March 2026, a comeback performance Johnston described as convincing, and which he felt showed a stronger, more physical horse than the one who ran last year.

His partnership with jockey Joe Fanning — 3 wins from 16 races together, winning roughly 1 in every 5 — has been central to that progress, and the Charlie Johnston yard is operating at full throttle this season with 128 winners already sent out. Next stops being discussed include a valuable mile-and-six race at the Guineas meeting or the Chester Cup, with the Gold Cup a longer-term dream. One condition: he will not run on wet or muddy ground, full stop. When the ground is fast and the trip is long, Align The Stars is worth watching very closely.