No Heretic chases big-race double

Chester Cup winner No Heretic bids to emulate Ile De Re in 2012 by doubling up his Roodee success in the John Smith's Northumberland Plate at Newcastle on Saturday.

However, the Nicky Henderson-trained eight-year-old has to bounce back from a below-par effort at Royal Ascot.

Connections are convinced the soft ground was to blame for his defeat in the Ascot Stakes and Henderson feels there will be no excuses on the Tapeta surface.

The prestigious staying handicap, popularly known as the Pitmen's Derby, will be run on Tapeta for the first time at the Gosforth Park venue, following the replacement of the turf track.

"Ascot just didn't really work for him and it was probably too soft for him as well," said the Seven Barrows handler.

"With the all-weather you know what you are going to get. Chester ground was perfect for him and I'm just hoping this all-weather ground will be consistent.

"Both Jamie (Spencer) and myself felt Ascot was too soft for him."

Nakeeta was just touched off by No Heretic at Chester and has a 1lb pull for that short-head defeat. His trainer Iain Jardine is delighted to have a horse with a chance in a race that is steeped in history.

"If he runs the sort of race he ran at Chester - obviously it's his first time on Tapeta, but if he can handle that he'll be there or thereabouts," said the Carrutherstown trainer.

"He feels tremendous, he's going well and hopefully the Chester Cup might even have put him a little bit sharper.

"It's a hard race but we're going there hopeful of a good run. It's exciting to have a runner in a big race like this, there's a buzz around the yard and everyone is really excited.

"He's had a feel for the surface, he worked after racing one day and seemed to handle it well, Royston (Ffrench) rode him and said he felt very good on it.

"Until you race them on it you don't really now, but it seems to suit most types of horses. He enjoys good ground, so I don't think it will be an issue."

Roger Varian feels Steve Rogers' fine record on an all-weather surface could give him an edge.

Steve Rogers has shown his liking for artificial tracks, having won impressively at Kempton in April and also twice at Wolverhampton. He did disappoint on his latest start, when favourite for the Chester Cup, but Varian expects him to be seen in his true colours.

"I am very happy with Steve Rogers. He has been working well and looks in great shape," the Newmarket handler said.

"He has a good record on the all-weather and is well drawn in four. He should run very well."

Seamour was sent off favourite 12 months ago but could not get into a winning position from the widest of draws and had to settle for sixth place behind Quest For More.

The five-year-old has fared better on that score this time, being allotted stall 12, and his locally-born trainer Brian Ellison believes Seamour can fulfil his dream of winning the Plate.

"He's in the best shape possible, we've kept him very fresh for this," said the North Yorkshire-based handler.

"He should have won last year but he was beaten by the draw and had to have too much use made of him. I've always wanted to win this and I've felt for a couple of years this is the horse that will do it for me."

Angel Gabrial won this race off a mark of 96 two years ago and was a respectable fourth last year when rated 103.

His mark is the same this time round but has more weight to carry. As a result, his trainer Richard Fahey has handed the ride to 7lb claimer Adam McNamara.

"The handicapper knows how good Angel Gabrial is. We're taking 7lb off, hopefully that will help him," said the Malton handler.

Fahey has a useful second string to his bow in Gabrial The Hero, the mount of stable jockey Tony Hamilton.

The seven-year-old has claims on his run in the Chester Cup when he was fourth behind No Heretic and also having won his two previous starts on the all-weather at Lingfield and Southwell in December.

"Gabrial The Hero has won on the all-weather so this surface shouldn't be a problem and we're happy with him," said Fahey.

Luke Morris owes a debt to this race as his triumph on Juniper Girl in 2007 gave his career a big lift.

He gets the chance to win it for a second time on the Sir Mark Prescott-trained Moscato, who put up a creditable effort when fourth in the Ascot Stakes at last week's Royal meeting despite not being suited by the rain-softened ground.

"This was kind of the race that got me going when I won on Juniper Girl. It was an important win in my career," Morris said.

"Moscato stays well and ran very well in the Ascot Stakes. He's got the blinkers on for the first time as he's just been a bit lazy through his races and we feel the blinkers may just spark him up and find a couple of pounds of improvement.

"The ground was probably against him at Ascot. The softer surface wouldn't have been up his street, but he still ran a brave race and as long as this hasn't come too soon, I'd be confident of a big run.

"The draw is a big negative as he's a horse that likes to race prominently. We'll have to use a big of gas early to get a prominent position."