Jamie Lynch gives his verdict on the 22 runners ahead of the William Hill Lincoln at Doncaster, live on Sky Sports Racing.
We’re a little lighter at the top end than usual for the one-mile handicap – due off at 3.35pm on Saturday – with only four of the runners rated 100+.
There’s sometimes double that, though what’s familiar and fuel to the fire is that over a third of the field are four-year-olds, most of whom still have improvement in them, invariably the magic ingredient for a Lincoln winner.
Let’s dive into the Doncaster line-up….
1. Galeron (Draw 11)
Jockey: Jason Watson | Trainer: Charlie Hills
This horse spent time in Group Ones as a three-year-old and spent last year in Australia for Annabel Neasham, without success. He’s still hitting levels to earn him top-weight on this reunion with Charlie Hills and will go off a big price for one of his ability, but there’s too much guesswork to be backing him.
2. Sean (9)
William Carver | Jamie Osborne
Sean has been in the twilight zone ever since being transferred from Germany at the start of last year, finding Group races a bit much and his handicap mark a bit high. This was encapsulated by his latest stint in Dubai, and a mile is maybe on the short side for him here.
3. Midnight Gun (13)
James Doyle | Hamad Al Jehani
The trainer is still an unfamiliar name, though Hamad Al Jehani had a 20 per cent strike-rate in his first season in Britain, as a boutique stable for Wathnan. Otherwise Midnight Gun has exactly the profile that you gravitate towards for a Lincoln, being a well-bred four-year-old with a touch of class and few miles on the clock. The handicapper could have been harsher for his test run over this course and distance last time out when clear with Harper’s Ferry.
4. Thunder Run (19)
Clifford Lee | Karl Burke
Looking back, it’s a rarer occurrence than I had thought in the Lincoln – Penitent and Addeybb the only two this century – but if there’s the proverbial Group horse in a handicap in this renewal then it’s Thunder Run. He didn’t debut until last June and ended up finishing a fine fourth as favourite for a Balmoral which went more the way of those patiently ridden.
Thunder Run goes for Lincoln glory on Saturday
One word of warning is that Karl Burke noted “a few niggles” for Thunder Run, so the logical leap is that he may not be wound up tight for this.
5. Two Tempting (10)
Rob Hornby | Jonathan Portman
This runner was one of the handicappers of 2024 with his five wins of increasing importance but has inevitably paid a price with his mark. That would be an obvious and ongoing obstacle even if he comes on from his fifth in the Wolverhampton trial.
6. Apiarist (7)
Tom Eaves | Kevin Ryan
Apiarist ran well without full reward in seven months and eight races on turf last year before the transformative turn to the all-weather, on which he’s all the more potent, boasting three from five this winter. The question – or moreover the doubt – is whether the improvement is transferrable to turf where his rating has risen in line (also 1lb badly in with a penalty).
7. Dual Identity (1)
Brandon Wilkie (5) | William Knight
Migration showed that seven-year-olds can win the Lincoln, albeit the first for 36 years, though age is but a number for Dual Identity who was better than ever in 2024. He always needs a few runs to get up to speed and saves his successes for Sandown nowadays.
8. Orne (4)
Luke Catton (5) | John and Thady Gosden
This test represents another shift in emphasis for him, not only because this will be his first handicap. His rating has slipped from its peak of 103 around this time last year, but also as he’s pointed back up to a mile after his last four runs over six furlongs, on top of a four-month break. It’s hard to know where he fits in the world.
9. Lattam (12)
Ryan Sexton | Julie Camacho
Lattam – winner of the 2023 Irish Lincolnshire
Although much is made (by me) of the value of four-year-olds, the last three Lincoln winners have been older horses with plenty of ‘previous’ in such races – exactly like Lattam, the runner-up last year and winner of the Irish Lincoln in 2023. His record after absences of three months or more reads 1122, the latter second in the Balmoral – a lifetime best by him. In short, Lattam speaks for himself, and these are just the handicaps in which he raises his voice.
10. Toimy Son (18)
Warren Fentiman (5) | David Menuisier
Toimy Son contested Group Ones in his younger days in France and, after taking his time acclimatising, he was resurgent in the second half of last year. He finished third in the Cambridgeshire and sixth in the Balmoral but the yard are yet to have a winner this year (from just 13 attempts) although won this with Migration who was likewise claimer ridden.
11. Whip Cracker (8)
Finley Marsh | Richard Hughes
All the reasons he was all the rage for the Lincoln Trial are still in play here, and Wolverhampton didn’t get near the bottom of him as the race went. He is still serving a purpose for this main event and the greatest hits of his three-year-old career – involving Jayarebe and Bolster – give him a big chance in here off 97.
12. Fantastic Fox (17)
Aidan Keeley | Roger Varian
It’s probably no coincidence that his last three wins have come on the all-weather. He’s more comfortable and clinical on that surface, but even on synthetics he’s never won off a mark this high. I’d say he is up against it.
13. Mr Professor (22)
David Egan | Raphael Freire
Amo Racing’s runner was the left-field Lincoln winner last year (33/1) when the very testing ground brought his stamina into play. We saw nothing from him in the rest of the season and he’s still 4lb higher now, on ground nothing like the same.
Mr Professor won this race last term under David Egan
14. Magnum Opus (16)
Harry Davies | Simon and Ed Crisford
Has been busy in Dubai, winning a handicap which went his way (from the rear), but picking up a penalty for this as a result, requiring another level which I’m not sure is in him, and he has mostly been kept away from easy ground.
15. Oliver Show (15)
Billy Loughnane | George Boughey
He grew up and stepped up last year upon joining George Boughey and carried on the good work in Bahrain after managing second in a Listed race there earlier in the month. However, he’s handicapped to the hilt, and he’s never before been in a race like the Lincoln.
16. Godwinson (3)
Cieren Fallon | William Haggas
A likely lad if only for the stable he represents, William Haggas having won the Lincoln four times. Above that, he proved a fixture in these hotter handicaps last year and it’s worth remembering that he should have won the Spring Cup first time out. This will be just his 10th race, too, but the wheels of progress had stopped turning by the end of last year.
17. Alpha Crucis (20)
Rhys Clutterbuck | Gary and Josh Moore
Gary and Josh Moore’s charge finished fourth in this at 28/1 on his reappearance in 2024 and returns more accomplished this year, but the softer the ground the better his chance, and the desired downpour hasn’t materialised.
18. Native Warrior (21)
Kieran Shoemark | Karl Burke
Kieran Shoemark’s mount is a profiler’s dream for the Lincoln, and what’s still at the forefront of the mind is how brilliantly he ran in the straight-mile Britannia when third overall (of 29) but first in his group. But for stablemate Thunder Run and team-mate Midnight Gun, the spotlight may be shinier still on the newly-gelded Native Warrior. He has the potential and the pedigree (by Wootton Bassett) to be a good bit better than 93.
19. Orandi (2)
Rossa Ryan | Tony Martin
None have succeeded but by my reckoning Chazzesmee last year is the only one to have tried to double up after the Irish Lincolnshire. There’s two weeks between the races this time, giving more of a chance to Orandi – who overcame traffic and 26 rivals at the Curragh and is 4lb well in under a penalty. The Irish handicapper has since reassessed him at 97.
20. Beringer (6)
Callum Shepherd | Alan King
It’s six years since he was third in the Lincoln, and this will be only his third race since 2020. Issues have inhibited his career and he returns from another lengthy lay-off here.
21. Dashing Darcey (5)
David Allan | Geoffrey Harker
This horse was a pricey purchase (110,000 gns) from Roger Varian but is a four-year-old still looking up. The assumption is that this may be a getting-to-know-you run, from a mark he’s been beaten on his last three starts.
22. Old Cock (14)
Callum Rodriguez | Ed Bethell
He didn’t start out until last April, doing a lot in in little time, with three wins along the way, though alongside the hits were some moody misses when he seemed to throw in the towel. Has the profile and the physique of one who’ll climb higher as a four-year-old but this is asking quite a lot of him first time back, in by far the strongest race he’s faced.
Jamie Lynch’s verdict
He may not be as sexy as some but Whip Cracker is still a classic contender for the Lincoln as a four-year-old with some very strong form to his name. He’s the price he is because of his defeat (as firm favourite) in the trial at Wolverhampton, which seems to be held against him. That said, it was nigh-on impossible to win that messy race from his position, and so he gets the value vote here.
Watch every race of the Lincoln meeting at Doncaster live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March.
