Jockey Hollie Doyle is backing Roger Varian’s Ride The Thunder to deliver in Saturday’s Northumberland Plate at Newcastle, as the handicapper steps up in class for his first run since gelding.
Plate race set for a vintage finish
Doyle, writing in her Sky Sports Racing blog, rates the 4/1 second favourite as the horse most likely to storm home in the Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate (3.15). She points to a clean draw in stall seven and a light race programme that leaves plenty of room for improvement. “You need luck and talent in equal measure,” she writes, “and with a clear passage I expect Ride The Thunder to go well.”
Her confidence is shared by Tony Ennis, whose 1-2-3 picks for the race tip the Varian runner to follow home Dancing In Paris, the 2025 runner-up who again draws low and arrives fresh from a run at Epsom. Ennis’ analysis, published ahead of the card at Football on Sight, highlights the race’s attraction for stamina-laden types under Ian Williams’ tutelage. The trainer’s record in big handicaps, including a 2023 success with Gold Cup hero Trueshan, adds further weight to the form book.
Newcastle’s big weekend under the spotlight
Newcastle’s racecourse hosts a bumper card on Saturday, with Sky Sports Racing covering 27 contests across four venues. Doyle’s focus, though, is on the Plate, where she also flags Dancing In Paris and Alan King’s Blazeon Five as live chances. The latter arrives from all-weather success and could outrun her odds under Callum Rodriguez if the ground stays sound. King, whose Trueshan claimed the 2022 Plate under identical conditions, has a proven blueprint for navigating the race’s unique demands.
Doyle’s own recovery from a broken left leg continues at Oaksey House in Lambourn, where physiotherapy has restored ankle flexion and gym work keeps her fitness ticking over. “Everything seems to be moving in the right direction,” she notes, though no timescale is yet confirmed. The jockey’s rehabilitation has involved daily sessions in the gym, focusing on upper-body strength and core stability to compensate for the enforced layoff.
Transfer noise shouldn’t overshadow Saturday’s racing
While transfer sagas involving Bruno Guimarães and Sandro Tonali dominate back-page chatter, Doyle urges viewers to keep Saturday’s racing in focus. Arsenal’s reported interest in Guimarães, as detailed by BBC Sport’s Friday gossip, and Tottenham’s second rejected bid for Tonali, per Mail Sport, may shape Newcastle’s summer, but the Northumberland Plate remains a race where local pride and handicapping nous collide.
Varian’s stable has a strong record in big handicaps, and Ride The Thunder’s reappearance under a welter burden of 10st 8lbs echoes Doyle’s 2022 victory on Trueshan in the same colours. That triumph, achieved under identical conditions, gives the trainer’s latest recruit an aura of pedigree. The gelding’s last run, a fifth-place finish in the Ebor Handicap at York, suggests he’s ready to step up, while his stall seven draw avoids the rail and offers a clear run.
For Doyle, the weekend is as much about celebrating the sport’s grassroots as chasing headlines. “It’s a tough race to win,” she writes, “never mind under the welter burden of 10st 8lbs that he carried to that momentous victory.” Her endorsement of Ride The Thunder is a reminder that, amid the clamour for Premier League signings, the Northumberland Plate still offers a stage for genuine racing drama.
Sky Sports Racing’s coverage begins at Newcastle with Back In Black and El Matador clashing in the opening contest, setting the tone for a day where every race tells a story. Football on Sight’s preview flags the early clash as one to watch, but it’s the Plate that will demand the final word.
Doyle’s blog closes on a personal note: the slow but steady progress of her rehabilitation. Yet her enthusiasm for Ride The Thunder’s prospects proves that patience, in racing as in recovery, can pay dividends. Saturday’s card offers a chance to see both in action.
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