Hollie Doyle gets the call for Sir Mark Prescott’s Trooper Bisdee

Nick Robson
June 26, 2024 11:57 am

Weekend winner all set for Northumberland Plate this weekend, but Pledgeofallegiance will not run.

Sir Mark Prescott has confirmed he will be double handed in Saturday’s Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate – but ante-post favourite Pledgeofallegiance will not run.

Instead, the Heath House handler will relay on Trooper Bisdee – who will be ridden by Hollie Doyle – and True Legend.

Pledgeofallegiance won the Ascot Stakes last week and Prescott feels a second big handicap bid will come too soon.

“No, he won’t run, he had a hard enough race and I think we’ll consider the two-and-a-half-mile handicap at Goodwood and the Cesarewitch and then if he’s lucky enough to win one of those we’d put him away and hope he might become a Cup horse the following year,” said Prescott on Sky Sports Racing.

“Trooper Bisdee won well at Pontefract (on Sunday), which probably played to his strengths – fast turf and two and a quarter miles. He was always going to win there and will have a 5lb penalty.

“He runs and Hollie Doyle will ride. I would have preferred it to be on turf and I would have like a bit of extra distance, but he’s in cracking form and he deserves to have a shot.

“He goes on any ground except very soft, but he has a huge advantage when it is very firm as he doesn’t mind how firm it is. Often it’s not what your horse wants, it is what disadvantages the others.

“True Legend will run, he’s been mighty unlucky a couple of times, he deserves one. Up to two miles is an unknown but I think he’ll like the al-weather. Whether he gets two miles is an unknown. Cieren Fallon will ride.”