No Pekan at Newcastle

Anak Pekan will bypass Saturday’s John Smith’s Northumberland Plate due to the likelihood of fast ground at Newcastle.

Trainer Michael Jarvis had hoped to run the dual Chester Cup winner in the two-mile feature as there are few opportunities for him.

The five-year-old was due to carry top weight but Jarvis will now go back to the drawing board to try to find a race.

He said: “While the ground is this quick he won’t be going anywhere. The problem is that he has a rating of well over 100, like half a dozen in my stable, and it’s a question of what do you do?

“I have Peak Of Perfection in the Plate and would like to run him but he needs 10 to come out, so I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed that it cuts up.”

Anak Pekan was as low as 10-1 with Coral for Saturday’s £180,000 (€271,100) contest.