Five-year-old gelding Align The Stars delivered a commanding performance to win the £150,000 JenningsBet Northumberland Plate at Newcastle. Ridden by jockey Daniel Muscutt and trained by Charlie Johnston, the 10/1 shot secured the victory at Newcastle by defeating bottom-weight runner-up Kirchner by a length and a quarter. Synergism and Saint Etienne completed the top four finishers in the 20-horse field.
Overcoming a difficult wide draw from stall 14, Muscutt successfully tracked early pace-setter Bahadur before taking control of the race just inside the two-furlong marker. The result carries significant generational weight for the trainer’s family. The win comes exactly 32 years after Mark Johnston won the same historic race—traditionally known as the ‘Pitmen’s Derby’—with Quick Ransom in 1994.
Following a patient rebuild of the horse’s form that included gelding him over the winter, owner Tony Farmer has officially designated the lucrative Sky Bet Ebor at York as the ultimate mid-season target for Align The Stars.