Saturday 27th June 2026
Welcome aboard to this week’s Saturday blog. I’ll be taking a look at all of the big races throughout the afternoon, with the feature coming in the form of the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle. The first race of the day for me will be the 2.10 at Newcastle, and this is the Chipchase Stakes over six furlongs. It could pay to side with one at a big price here, as it’s highly competitive, and I’ve come down on POET MASTER for Karl Burke and Sam James, who’s currently trading at a best price of 14/1. He hasn’t won for a while now; however, he drops down to six furlongs for the first time here, and he has plenty of high-end form at seven furlongs and is a Group 2 winner over that trip. Most recently, he finished a couple of lengths behind subsequent Royal Ascot winner Ten Bob Tony when third at Epsom, and that form alone would put him in the picture here. I think that he could outrun a big price here.
I head over to the Curragh for the second race of the day, and the 2.15, which is the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes over six and a half furlongs. It’s hard to see past the Aidan O’Brien-trained CONFUCIUS here, who’s a warm order at the top of the betting under Ryan Moore. He was impressive at Naas in May, which led to him being sent off a short-priced favourite for the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, and whilst he couldn’t reward favourite backers on that occasion, he still ran a solid race, finishing sixth of twenty-one, and just a length and three-quarters behind stablemate Great Barrier Reef. That’s the best form on offer here, and he should prove tough to beat.
I’ve got one race from York to take a look at on the day, and this is the 2.58, the Group 3 Criterion Stakes, which is contested over seven furlongs. Never So Brave sets the standard at the top of the betting here for Andrew Balding; however, it could pay to side with the three-year-old, SABER STRIKE, here for William Haggas and Tom Marquand. He’s a horse with a big reputation, and like Confucius, was sent off a warm favourite at Royal Ascot, in his case in the Jersey Stakes. He was slightly underwhelming in his run, however; there should still be a lot more to come from him, given his run at Newmarket on his penultimate start, where he beat another top prospect in Cerro Blanco within Listed company. He also gets a lot of weight coming up against older rivals here, and I think he could put on a bold show.
We move on to the big one at Newcastle at 3.15, and this is the Northumberland Plate, a highly-competitive Heritage Handicap over two miles and a half furlong. A case could be made for the majority of the line-up in this twenty-runner affair; however, I’ve come down on Roger Varian’s RIDE THE THUNDER, who’s the mount of Ray Dawson. He’s still unexposed within handicap company as a four-year-old, having only had the four runs, and whilst he hasn’t managed to get his head in front, he’s knocked on the door in each of those starts. In his last two runs he’s been third and second, and not too far away from the progressive Valiancy, which is solid form. He’s also kept on in each of those runs, giving the impression that this marathon distance could suit him. His seasonal reappearance at Hamilton last month was his first run since being gelded, and he should naturally take a big step forward here. I think that he can go well.
The last two races I’ll be featuring in the blog are both from the Curragh, the first of which is the 3.20, and the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes over six furlongs. This should be another big race going the way of Aidan O’Brien with SUN GODDESS under Ryan Moore. She’s another who was a hot favourite at Royal Ascot, and she ran a mighty race in the Albany Stakes to finish second of twenty-five, and just a length behind Libertango. Before that, she was a five-length winner of a maiden over course and distance, and she should be resuming her progress here; I find it tough to see past her in this particular contest.
We sign off with the 3.55 at the Curragh, and this is Group 1 action for the fillies & mares in the form of the Pretty Polly Stakes over a mile and two furlongs. The Joseph O’Brien-trained THUNDERING ON is quickly developing into one of my favourite horses, and I certainly won’t be abandoning her here. She announced herself onto the scene with a dominant three and a quarter length success in Group 3 company at Navan in April, before producing one of the best Oaks performances we’ve seen at Epsom last time out, travelling all over her rivals before powering away to beat Legacy Link by three and three-quarters of a length. Estrange is a very talented mare in her own right, and will likely give her running; however, if the O’Brien three-year-old is anywhere near the form of her Epsom run, they’ll be playing for places again.
