'I came out in a bathrobe and slippers' - Mark Johnston caught up in hotel fire

Britain's winningmost trainer Mark Johnston had a rude awakening in the early hours of Thursday when a fire broke out at the hotel he and wife Deirdre were staying at in Baden-Baden, Germany.

Scouting for new recruits at the BBAG September Yearling Sale, their stay at the Radisson Blu Badischer Hof Hotel was cut short after a blaze completely destroyed the roof structure of the hotel that dates back to the early 1800s.

They were initially alerted to danger when the hotel's fire alarm sounded shortly after 3am, with the trainer throwing on a bathrobe before evacuating his room.

"There were a lot of horse people in there so it wasn't just us by any means," said Johnston, unscathed and back on course at York on Sunday. "Basically the fire alarm went off and I woke up about 3.15am on Thursday morning.

"When we looked out the door of our room everything looked normal. It was only when we went down one floor that we realised it wasn't a false alarm because the sprinkler systems were all on.

"The silly thing was, Deirdre was in the process of getting dressed and gathering up things and I said, 'Come on, we just need to leave, we'll be back in ten minutes.' You usually think these things are a false alarm, hence I left the room with nothing."

Deirdre and Mark Johnston at home on the gallopsCredit: Edward Whitaker

Rather than a badly timed drill, it soon transpired that there was a significant fire, with several fire brigades from Germany's Rastatt district called to tackle the blaze. As many as 150 members of the emergency services were reportedly at the scene at one stage.

"I went downstairs and the fire brigade was already there," said Johnston. "I went outside but they then took us back into the hotel and put us in a function room. The sprinklers were on and there was water coming through the ceiling.

"We were in there for maybe an hour and a half, during which time people kept telling us the roof was on fire. I went outside a couple of times and you could see the roof was on fire. I couldn't quite see how extensive it was but then they moved us out of the hotel and on to buses and we were out there for another couple of hours. Eventually, about 8am in the morning, they rehoused us in other hotels."

While out of harm's reach, the Johnstons were left without their personal belongings and were only reunited with important documents such as their passports on Saturday.

The Classic-winning trainer, who was able to see the amusing side of being stranded in little more than his pyjamas, added: "I'd come out in a bathrobe and slippers and the only thing I'd taken with me was my phone. A German owner of ours, who we always go to the sales with, went out shopping for some clothes for Deirdre, who then in turn went out shopping for some clothes for me.

"Everything was in the initial room, including passports, but on Saturday morning we went back to the hotel and one of the salvage crew went into our room and brought out most of our stuff, a lot of which was smoke damaged, water damaged and ruined, but I got my passport, driver's licence and pilot's licence back and all the things I needed to get home."

Mark Johnston: 'The only thing I'd taken with me was my phone'Credit: Alan Crowhurst / Getty Images

Around 160 guests in all had to be evacuated, with large parts of what is Germany's oldest palace hotel said to be badly affected by the extinguishing water. The hotel had been completely renovated only in recent years and had undergone further refurbishment earlier this year.

"There was quite significant damage to the hotel," said Johnston, who is closing in on 5,000 winners in Britain. "The roof had collapsed in a number of places but I don't know whether that was due to the fire or the amount of water that was being poured on it. They were pouring water on it for seven or eight hours. They said the ceiling had collapsed in our room, which is why we initially couldn't get our stuff back.

"We were all interviewed by the CID and I think they are still concerned about the cause because they think the fire started in two different places. There's a criminal investigation ongoing."

Fortunately, no-one was seriously injured with just one woman reportedly hospitalised due to smoke inhalation but later released from hospital. The investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, with the police and the public prosecutor's office said to be "not ruling out arson" at this stage.

Frustratingly for Johnston, who was fit enough to fly the couple home after being reunited with their personal documents, he also drew a blank at the yearling sales.

He said: "I didn't buy anything in the end. I bid on a few but I was a bit on the back foot because I missed all my Thursday viewing."

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