Plate Preview...if it`s on!

Donald McCain has high hopes Ile De Re can follow up his Chester Cup victory in the John Smith's Northumberland Plate at Newcastle. The six-year-old led home a notable one-two for the Cheshire trainer when foiling Overturn's attempt to land back-to-back victories on the Roodee last month, and he will now bid to emulate his versatile stablemate, who won the two-mile 'Pitmen's Derby' in 2010. His run at Chester was his first since joining the McCain team from the Ian Williams stable.

The trainer told At The Races: "I hadn't had him long before Chester. It was about three weeks and he came in great nick from Ian Williams. Since Chester this has been the target and everything has gone smoothly. The ground is going to be in his favour, I don't see why the track shouldn't suit and we're hoping for a big run. "Overturn got the run of the race at Chester and everything went to plan apart from the ground and this horse still managed to beat him." Silvestre de Sousa is expecting a big run from the Mark Johnston-trained Gulf Of Naples, whom he steered into fourth place behind his former stablemate Colour Vision in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. The jockey said: "There's a bit more to come from him and he's going to win a big race, I hope, this year. He's a nice horse and has been improving all year. The Gold Cup was a big race, he ran a blinder, but he did not have a hard time out there. "They went a nice even gallop, then we quickened up and he finished the race nicely and quickened all the way to the line. I think he goes there with a good chance. He goes on any kind of ground. To me he'll win a Group race this year."

Richard Fahey runs three and is particularly keen on the chances of Lexington Bay in a race he has yet to win. He said: "I'm delighted he's got in. He'll love the ground, he'll love the trip. This has been his long-term plan, but we didn't think we'd done enough to get in it. He got struck into at Kempton and probably needed the run at York the other day. That will put him spot on and I'm looking forward to seeing him run."