Stars perfectly aligned at Newcastle for Plate smasher Align The Stars pounced late to land the Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate for Middleham trainer Charlie Johnston. A 10-1 chance under Daniel Muscutt, the five-year-old gelding was always up with the pace but took up the running from Kirchner inside the final furlong, staying on strongly to pull one and quarter lengths clear of the well-backed 17-2 shot. Synergism (9-1) was a further length and three-quarters away in third, with Saint Etienne (18-1) another neck away in fourth. Align The Stars was landing the £150,000 race some 32 years after Johnston’s father, Mark, won the race known as the ‘Pitmen’s Derby, with classy stayer Quick Ransom. Ending a Long Wait for the Johnston Yard “We would like to think we have a good record in this race, so a bit disappointed it has been quite so long between drinks, but ever since he won the Queen’s Prize earlier this season we have had this in mind,” said the winning trainer. “It would have been easy to be tempted to go to Ascot last week, but we felt ‘let’s keep our powder dry’. “This horse was a really good three-year-old, in fact had you asked me post-Goodwood (where he won a one-mile-six-furlong handicap) as a three-year-old I would have said he might be a Cup horse next year so the wheels did come off a bit last year, but they are firmly back on now.” Johnston paid tribute to a fine ride from Muscutt, insisting a decisive early where the jockey chose to stay wide around the first bend made the difference between winning and losing. “The winning of the race was the riding early,” said Johnston. “It would have been easy to think ‘I can’t go four wide around this bend, I need to tuck in’ but if he hadn’t done that he would have been far too far back. “For all that it is a two-mile race they turn into five-furlong sprints and you have to be in the right place.” Glorious Goodwood Back on the Agenda A return to Goodwood could be on the agenda for Align The Stars with the race he won as a three-year-old back in his sights. “That mile and six race at Glorious Goodwood would be his next big target. Whether he goes to Newmarket between now and then we will see, but this was D-day and it’s come off.” Muscutt was winning the Plate for the first time and said he always believed the horse would stay in front once he took the lead. “He got himself into a nice spot eventually and he was always going to grind it out from there. Once he gets up to the head of affairs he travels well. He stayed well and is a good horse,” he said. “I took out the consolation race a couple of years ago, but it is nice to have this one on my CV now.”
