WHEN Royston Ffrench notched up a grand total of 77 winners in 1998 it seemed he was a jockey destined for the very top.

But such is the fickle nature of owners and trainers the talented lightweight then simply fell out of fashion and he ended last season with a pretty miserable tally of just 37 winners.

One handler who has stood by Ffrench is Mark Johnston, despite a calamitous blunder when he threw away certain victory aboard the stable's Happy Diamond in a valuable contest at Doncaster by prematurely easing his mount.

This afternoon at Folkestone, Johnston once again puts his faith in Ffrench, scheduled to ride the yard's useful filly Julius (4.10) in the Sandgate Classified Stakes.

She certainly paid for her corn last season, winning six times in all, including a career-best performance at Newmarket in September.

The long journey from Middleham to the Kent coast is not one to undertake lightly, so it's pretty safe to assume travelling companion Star Rage (3.10) will also be strongly fancied to collect the earlier two-mile Winchelsea Handicap.

Johnston has excellent prospects of completing a treble, this time much nearer to home via Takamaka Bay (3.30) in the £10,000 Angel Handicap at Haydock.

He's got very few miles on the clock, having run only three times, never once finishing out of the frame, winning the final start of his three-year-old campaign at Ayr with embarrassing ease.

Richard Ford's ploy of switching Cherry Tart (3.20) back to hurdles did the trick at Perth last month, however he has opted to try fences once again at the Scottish track in the two-and-a-half-mile Sports Daily Handicap Chase.

Clearly a very versatile type, Cherry Tart looks to be the best bet north of the Border.

Newbury stages a competitive evening meeting featuring, among others, the improving filly Woodyates (8.00), bidding to complete her hat-trick in the Sony Handicap.

Successful over course and distance eight days ago, she won with sufficient authority on that occasion to suggest a 6lb penalty would not be enough to prevent the three-timer.

Kieren Fallon's booking for Xaloc Bay (9.00) in the closing Hillstone Corporation Handicap might well prove highly significant for the well-weighted northern raider.

Cartmel Park made all the running under the evergreen George Duffield to score at Newcastle yesterday - but don't bank on him following up next time out, writes TATTENHAM.

After seeing the five-year-old scoot home along the favoured stands' rail in the GG.com Claiming Stakes, connections admitted in the winner's enclosure that their charge is a real head-scratcher when it comes to predicting his going days.

Joint-owner Peter Airey, who bred the son of Skyliner, said: ''It's hard to know what it was that made the difference.

''When he sees another horse he starts to hang towards it, but here he's been in front all the way, which has really helped him.''

Being out in front seemed to be the right choice of tactics and Flambe repeated his course-and-distance success of last month when leading all the way under apprentice Paul Mulrennan in the GG.com Launch Derby Day Handicap.

The three-year-old is clearly thriving and is set to make a quick reappearance at Haydock on Friday.

Eurolink Artemis seems to have benefited from the transfer to Mark Johnston's Middleham stable and the filly struck at 10-1 in the GG.com Racing Into The Future Handicap.

The six-year-old remains on course for a tilt at a remarkable third success in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot after working this morning.

Tim Easterby has his sights set on winning the Queen Mary stakes at Royal Ascot for the second year running after watching Good Girl win a thrilling Listed Hilary Needler Trophy in the hands of Jamie Spencer at Beverley last night.

Spencer dashed the bay filly through on the rails to lead over a furlong out and kept her going to hold the strong challenge of the unlucky Roundtree.

Read more news from Racing North here.