THE Northumberland Plate used to be run on a Wednesday and it used to be a day off for the miners, hence, the Pitmen’s Derby. My grandfather used to call it the Pitmen’s Derby.

I used to call it the Pitman’s Derby until one day my grandfather corrected me. These days it’s usually run on Irish Derby weekend.

There hasn’t been an Irish-trained winner of the race since Tony Martin won it with Arc Bleu in 2008, but Yashin has a real chance today.

Jessica Harrington’s horse won the Group 3 Saval Beg Stakes last year and, on his last run in Britain, was only beaten a total of three lengths in the Ebor, when he didn’t have a lot of luck in-running.

Third behind Gold Cup winner Kyprios in the Vintage Crop Stakes and again in the Saval Beg Stakes in his two runs this season, he should appreciate the drop back down from listed and Group 3 company into handicap company, and he gets to race today off a handicap rating of 105, the same as the mark off which he raced in the Ebor.

He goes into the race in good form, and Scott McCullagh is great value for his 3lb claim.

He is drawn in stall one though, and that makes things tricky. Instinctively, you would think that an inside draw would be a positive, but the evidence suggests that it is actually a negative.

In the eight renewals of the Northumberland Plate run on all-weather, only two have been won by horses who emerged from single-figure draws.

The last four winners were drawn, respectively, 17, 17, 10 and 14. Also, in those last four renewals, 14 of the 16 places, one to four, were filled by horses who had emerged from double-digit draws.

Positive

Spartan Army is drawn in stall 18, which is probably a positive, and he has plenty more in his favour besides. Winner of his first three races this year on all-weather tracks, he ran well on his first run at Newcastle, in the All-Weather Championships Marathon at the end of March, when he finished third behind Prydwen, a head behind Duke Of Oxford.

He ran well last time too at Newbury, returned to the turf. He travelled up into his race really well, it looked like he was going to be involved in the finish as they passed the two-furlong marker, before his run just flattened out.

Winner of his maiden at Down Royal as a three-year-old when he was with Joseph O’Brien, Alan King has given him a nice break since then.

He hasn’t run since April, but that is probably a positive, he goes well fresh, he has won twice and finished third twice in four runs after a break of 50 days or more.

Alan King has produced the winner of the Northumberland Plate twice in the last five years, and it is probable that he has had the race in mind for Spartan Army for a little while, and Billy Loughnane is an excellent booking.

There shouldn’t be much between Spartan Army and Duke Of Oxford on their running in the All-Weather Championships Marathon, and you can argue that Duke Of Oxford did well to come from as far back as he did off a sedate pace.

But Michael Bell’s horse was well beaten in the Chester Cup last time, albeit from a wide draw, and it may be that he will be ridden well back in the field again today.

There shouldn’t be much between them again but, at a bigger price, Spartan Army may be the value.

And Tiber Flow may be the value in the Group 3 Plantation Stud Criterion Stakes at Newbury later on the day.

Noble Dynasty sets a good standard, and the Godolphin gelding’s defeat of English Oak in a seven-furlong handicap at Newmarket on Guineas weekend looks even better now since that horse’s impressive victory in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

But Tiber Flow was good last time too in winning the Group 3 John Of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock. A faller in the Group 2 Duke of York Stakes on his previous run, William Haggas’ horse proved that he was none the worse for that mishap with an authoritative display last time at York, coming from a long way back and seeing out the distance strongly to win well.

He had to be brave and he had to fight for racing room, and it wasn’t a race in which the pace collapsed, and he was well on top at the end. Third in the Group 3 Coral Charge over five furlongs at Sandown on Eclipse day last July, that was his first run over seven furlongs since August 2022, and he saw out the distance well.

It was probably a career-best performance, and there is every chance that he can step forward again now.

Spartan Army, 3.10 Newcastle, 1pt each-way, 11/1 (generally)

Tiber Flow, 3.25 Newbury, 1 pt win, 4/1 (generally)