With just three weeks of the turf flat season to go, John Dunlop reached his century of winners when Bestam, at 8-1, completed a Newmarket double in the final race yesterday.

The Arundel trainer joins Mark Johnston and Richard Hannon the only others to have saddled 100 winners since the season opened in March.

Castle Stables' record is impressive. In 1995 the yard has its best season with 126 winners. The following two years produced 88 and a frustrating 99, but in 1998 and in the following year, the century was comfortably exceeded with 112 and 124.

Last season Dunlop stuck on 98, but although a personal record is out of the question he has reached the target with time in hand. The only other trainer with a chance of joining the century makers is Barry Hills whose Lambourn stable has turned out 97 this season.

"We are running a bit short of ammunition," said the hard-working Castle Stables racing secretary Marcus Hosgood. "But old San Sebastian runs in the Jockey Club Cup at Newmarket tomorrow with a good chance if he's in the right mood and Taffrail will probably be second favourite for the Tote Cesarewitch now that Sir Mark Prescott's Alleluia has been declared to run."

Stable companion Give Notice is also in the two and a quarter mile second leg of the Autumn double tomorrow and is available at 25-1 with the sponsor this morning.

Richard Quinn rides Give Notice, who has not raced over this extended distance but stays two miles well.

In Europe Dunlop has been as successful as any trainer with the possible exception of the Godolphin outfit.

He has won races in France, Italy and Germany including Olden Times in the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly, Golden Snake in the Prix Ganay at Longchamp and Invincible Spirit in Ireland. Vision Of Night and Fair Question have won important races in Germany while the two year old Kootenay scored at San Siro in Italy.

Dunlop is one of only six English-based trainers whose prize money exceeds £1million but it is a sobering thought that, with only 17 winners in England, it is the Irish maestro Aidan O'Brien who has netted just over £3million in the UK with stars such Galileo, Mozart and Rock Of Gibraltar.

Amazingly, to a £1 level stake, O'Brien's runners in Britain show a profit of exactly £24 at the time of writing. However John Dunlop remains one of the most consistently successful trainers in Britain and shows no sign of taking things more easily.