A full field of 20 will go to post on Saturday for the Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate, run over 2m½f and worth £150,000, including Andrew Balding’s Who’s Glen and the Willie Mullins-trained Pappano.
Who’s Glen has featured towards the head of the betting for this race for some time and will be joined by stablemate Spirit Mixer on their 307-mile journey to the North-East from their Kingsclere base.
The jockey booking of Jamie Spencer, whose sole win in this race came all the way back in 2003, aboard joint-favourite Pappano for Willie Mullins is extremely eye-catching. The H O S Syndicate-owned gelding will only be Mullins’ third ever runner on the flat at Newcastle.
There were a whole host of Irish entries left in at the five-day stage, but Pappano will only be joined by Zanndabad who enjoyed a pipe opener for this when midfield at the Curragh earlier this month.
East India Dock was beaten less than two-lengths into sixth in the Ascot Stakes less than a week ago, but has seemingly come out of the race well and the Chester Cup hero will bid to return to winning ways here.
The Thomas Faulkner-trained Golden Rules was the subject of a major ante-post gamble in this very race two years ago but came up just short in second. He has only had one start since then which he was entitled to need when he made his return from almost two years off at Kempton Park in March.
Faulkner said: “We are hoping for a good run. He is very fit and well and we couldn’t be happier with him. We are just hoping for a little more luck this year than we had in 2023.”
Last year’s winner Onesmoothoperator will be having his seasonal reappearance in this contest. He was kept on the go throughout the Winter in Dubai, and has since been given a short break. No horse has won consecutive renewals of the Pitmen’s Derby since 1978.
A return to an all-weather surface should suit Duke Of Oxford, who added to his 0% strike-rate on turf when posting a below-par run in the Chester Cup last time out. His record of 6/16 on the all-weather inspires confidence for a more promising effort this weekend.
Latest Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate odds: Who’s Glen 6/1jf, Pappano 6/1jf, East India Dock 8/1, Golden Rules 9/1, Onesmoothoperator 10/1, Duke Of Oxford 12/1, BAR 14/1
The consolation race for the Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate, which is known as the JenningsBet Festival Northumberland Vase Handicap, has also attracted a full field of 20. Sir Mark Prescott’s sole runner on Saturday’s card at Gosforth Park is the 9/2f Godsend who is chasing a fifth consecutive career win.
The Jenningsbet Chipchase Stakes (G3) has attracted a field of 10 runners, with the Wathnan Racing-owned Kind Of Blue the star name on show. The 4-year-old ran no sort of his race on his seasonal return but is worth another chance in this grade given the form he showed when landing the QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes (G1) last year.
