Doncaster Racecourse

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87 Go Forward in Search of William Hill Lincoln Glory at Doncaster 23/03/09

A total of 87 horses remain after today’s five-day confirmation stage for the traditional curtain raiser for the Flat season, the £125,000 William Hill Lincoln, run over a mile at Doncaster on Saturday, March 28.

Newmarket trainers look set to have a strong hand in the race, with John Gosden responsible for Expresso Star and Charm School, while Luca Cumani is set to be represented by Swop, who landed a mile handicap at Nad Al Sheba on his latest appearance. Michael Jarvis may run the unexposed Fireside and he could be joined by last year’s William Hill Spring Mile winner Don’t Panic, trained by Peter Chapple-Hyam.

Gainsborough-based handler James Given will be hoping to ‘take the Lincoln home’ with his five-year-old Dream Lodge, who smashed the course record for Doncaster’s mile course with a six-length victory in a conditions race last July.

Given revealed: “The William Hill Lincoln is the plan for Dream Lodge at the moment and he has done very well over the winter. He has been gelded since last year and he’s a lot calmer in his work. I am very happy with him and I am looking forward to seeing him run.

“I know that Doncaster has been re-levelled since they redeveloped the course but he still took a second off the old track record. He made all that day but I don’t think that you can get away with such a tactic in the William Hill Lincoln - you would just be setting up the race for someone else.

“He ran well from a bad draw in the Cambridgeshire and I think he’s a bit of a dark horse in the race. There will be a lot of horses that will have been laid out for the William Hill Lincoln but I think that we go there with a decent chance, especially if the ground is not too soft.”

Blythe Knight
© racing-images.co.uk

Other notable acceptors include two previous winners of the William Hill Lincoln, the 2006 scorer Blythe Knight and last year’s victor Smokey Oakey, the consistent Mangham, Flipando, who beat Ace Of Hearts in the William Hill Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton on March 7, as well as Huzzah and Zaahid, from the stable of Barry Hills, successful with Pablo in 2003.

Trainer Jonjo O’Neill and owner J P McManus, who have joined up to land many a gamble over the Jumps, are set for a rare foray on the level with Spectait, who has thrived on the Polytrack over the winter with three victories in handicaps at Wolverhampton.

The seven-year-old gelding has already landed a valuable handicap over the William Hill Lincoln trip, having been successful in the totesport Mile at Glorious Goodwood in August, 2006, for former handler Sir Mark Prescott.

Frank Berry, racing manager to J P McManus, commented: “We kept Spectait in the William Hill Lincoln and he will run as long as he gets into the race. If he gets eliminated, then he will take his chance in the William Hill Spring Mile.

“He’s been in good form and he’s won his three starts this year in good style. Jonjo’s happy with him and he seems more consistent nowadays. He’s been improving throughout the winter and it will be interesting to see how he handles the good to soft ground on a return to turf.

“I think that Jamie Moriarty will probably take the ride and the horse goes to Doncaster in good order.”

A maximum field of 22 will got to post for the William Hill Lincoln and horses that are eliminated from the feature race will be eligible to run in the £50,000 William Hill Spring Mile (2.35pm), run over the same distance.

Saturday’s superb seven-race card also features the six-furlong Listed £40,000 williamhill.com - Play Live Casino Cammidge Trophy (3.10pm), for which 22 sprinters have been entered, while the action gets underway with the first two-year-old race of the season, the £17,500 williamhill.com - Play Poker Brocklesby Conditions Stakes (2.05pm), which has attracted an entry of 42 juveniles.

For the first time, this year’s two-day Lincoln Festival continues with a seven race card on Sunday, March 29 (first race 2.00pm).

William Hill Lincoln: (sponsors bet) Expresso Star 9/2, Charm School 9/1, Swop 9/1, Fireside 10/1, Huzzah 10/1, Don’t Panic 14/1, Flipando 14/1, Mangham 14/1, Zaahid 14/1, Extraterrestrial 16/1, Decameron 20/1, Slugger O'Toole 20/1, Spectait 20/1, Thebes 20/1, Titan Triumph 20/1, Ace Of Hearts 25/1, Arabian Spirit 25/1, Bencoolen 25/1, Blythe Knight 25/1, Charlie Tipple 25/1, Cobo Bay 25/1, Docofthebay 25/1, Flowing Cape 25/1, Lady Deauville 25/1, Manassas 25/1, Mia's Boy 25/1, Royal Power 25/1, Smokey Oakey 25/1, The Osteopath 25/1, Whistledownwind 25/1, Benandonner 33/1, Big Noise 33/1, Bolodenka 33/1, Dabbers Ridge 33/1, Dream Lodge 33/1, Dunn'o 33/1, European Dream 33/1, Eva's Request 33/1, Flawed Genius 33/1, Fremen 33/1, Invincible Force 33/1, Kavachi 33/1, Kings Point 33/1, Kingsdale Orion 33/1, Majuro 33/1, Medici Pearl 33/1, Minority Report 33/1, Mister Ross 33/1, Nanton 33/1, Opus Maximus 33/1, Osteopathic Remedy 33/1, Philario 33/1, Pravda Street 33/1, The Fifth Member 33/1, Ansells Pride 40/1, Arizona John 40/1, Intabih 40/1, Jack Junior 40/1, Last Sovereign 40/1, Lucky Dance 40/1, Nightjar 40/1, Rainbow Mirage 40/1, Raptor 40/1, Stevie Gee 40/1, Alpes Martimes 50/1, Captain Jacksparra 50/1, Exit Smiling 50/1, Geojimali 50/1, Horatio Carter 50/1, Light From Mars 50/1, Magnitude 50/1, Mujaadel 50/1, My Gacho 50/1, Pride Of Nation 50/1, Wigwam Willie 50/1, Wind Shuffle 50/1, Carlitos Spirit 66/1, Green Park 66/1, Mozayada 66/1, Smarty Socks 66/1, Sudden Impact 66/1, Tiger Dream 66/1, White Deer 66/1, Grey Boy 100/1, Mount Hadley 100/1, Ours 100/1, Yes One 100/1,

THE WILLIAM HILL LINCOLN ROLL OF HONOUR 1965 - 2008

Doncaster, One Mile. Run at Lincoln prior to 1965 apart from Pontefract 1943-1945 and Lingfield 1916, No race 1917 & 1918. Run at Redcar in 2006 & Newcastle in 2007.

YEAR HORSE AGE/WGT/DRAW OWNER TRAINER JOCKEY SP RAN

1965 OLD TOM 6-8-07 (20) J L Ellis Peter Easterby Scobie Breasley 22/1 38
1966 RIOT ACT 4-8-03 (45) Mrs John F C Bryce Sam Armstrong Scobie Breasley 8/1F 49
1967 BEN NOVUS 5-7-10 (12) John Peatt Bill Hide Peter Robinson 22/1 24
1968 FRANKINCENSE 4-9-05 (31) Lady Halifax John Oxley Greville Starkey 100/8 31
1969 FOGGY BELL 4-7-11 (9) J Forrester Denys Smith Sandy Barclay 20/1 25
1970 NEW CHAPTER 4-8-01 (15) C P Goulandris Sam Armstrong Sandy Barclay 100/9 23
1971 DOUBLE CREAM 4-8-09 (20) R F Dennis Bill Elsey Edward Hide 30/1 26
1972 SOVEREIGN BILL 6-8-12 (6) W Barr Peter Robinson Edward Hide 9/2F 21
1973 BRONZE HILL 4-7-09 (22) Mrs E Smith Peter Easterby Mark Birch 50/1 26
1974 QUIZAIR 5-7-13 (22) W MacDonald Ryan Jarvis Taffy Thomas 28/1 26
1975 SOUTHWARK STAR 4-7-03 (18) T Hammond George Peter-Hoblyn Richard Fox 33/1 24
1976 THE HERTFORD 5-8-06 (14) B Shine Brian Swift Geoff Lewis 20/1 26
1977 BLUSTERY 5-7-11 (24) R Lorenz Mark Smyly Dennis McKay 20/1 26
1978 CAPTAINS WINGS 5-7-10 (6) M House Ron Boss Michael Wigham 13/2F 25
1979 FAIR SEASON 5-8-10 (15) Colonel J Berry Ian Balding Greville Starkey 8/1 23
1980 KINGS RIDE 4-8-12 (2) D Clark Bill Wightman Geoff Baxter 10/1 18
1981 SAHER 5-8-12 (9) Jeff Smith Ron Sheather Ray Cochrane 14/1 19
1982 KING’S GLORY 4-8-03 (22) C Heard Philip Mitchell Bryn Crossley 11/1 26
1983 MIGHTY FLY 4-8-04 (5) Mrs V Tory David Elsworth Steve Cauthen 14/1 26
1984 SAVING MERCY 4-8-09 (8) Dr M Benacerraf Dermot Weld IRE Walter Swinburn 14/1 26
1985 CATALDI 4-9-10 (8) Khalid Abdullah Guy Harwood Greville Starkey 10/1F 26
1986 K-BATTERY 5-8-04 (12) Mrs M C Butler Bill Elsey John Lowe 25/1 25
1987 STAR OF A GUNNER 7-8-08 (6) James Neville Richard Holder John Reid 9/1 25
1988 CUVEE CHARLIE 4-8-01 (1) Richard Davies Hugh Collingridge Mark Rimmer 33/1 25
1989 FACT FINDER 5-7-09 (6) A D Spence Reg Akehurst Tyrone Williams 20/1 25
1990 EVICHSTAR 6-7-12 (14) Gwyn Meredith Jimmy FitzGerald Alan Munro 33/1 24
1991 AMENABLE 6-8-01 (23) W G Spink David Barron Alex Greaves 22/1 25
1992 HIGH LOW 4-8-00 (17) Brian Haggas William Haggas Jimmy Quinn 16/1 24
1993 HIGH PREMIUM 5-8-08 (5) P A Leonard Lynda Ramsden Kieren Fallon 16/1 24
1994 OUR RITA 5-8-05 (6) Jonathan Crisp Dr Jon Scargill Darryll Holland 16/1 24
1995 ROVING MINSTREL 4-8-03 (11) Joy McMahon Bryan McMahon Kevin Darley 33/1 23
1996 STONE RIDGE 4-8-07 (6) Mrs Chris Harrington Richard Hannon Dane O’Neill 33/1 24
1997 KUALA LIPIS 4-8-06 (21) HRH Sultan Ahmad Shah Paul Cole Richard Quinn 11/1 24
1998 HUNTERS OF BRORA 8-9-00 (23) Robert Gibbons James Bethell Jason Weaver 16/1 23
1999 RIGHT WING 5-9-05 (8) The Earl Cadogan John Dunlop Richard Quinn 9/2F 24
2000 JOHN FERNELEY 5-8-10 (1) Richard Green (Fine Paintings) Paul Cole Jimmy Fortune 7/1JF 24
2001 NIMELLO 5-8-09 (1) Constantinos Shiacolas Paul Cole Jimmy Fortune 9/2F 23
2002 ZUCCHERO 6-8-13 (7) Philip Banfield David Arbuthnot Simon Whitworth 33/1 23
2003 PABLO 4-8-11 (6) Guy Reed Barry Hills Michael Hills 5/1 24
2004 BABODANA 4-9-10 (23) M P Bowring Mark Tompkins Philip Robinson 20/1 24
2005 STREAM OF GOLD 4-9-00 (13) Ballymacoll Stud Sir Michael Stoute Robert Winston 5/1F 22
2006 *BLYTHE KNIGHT 6-8-10 (9) Maxilead Ltd John Quinn Graham Gibbons 22/1 30
2007 **VERY WISE 5-8-11 (16) John Greetham William Haggas Joe Fanning 9/1 20
2008 SMOKEY OAKEY 4-8-09 (12) Dame Judi Dench & Bryan Agar Mark Tompkins Jimmy Quinn 10/1 21

* Run at Redcar
** Run at Newcastle

THE WILLIAM HILL LINCOLN FACTS AND FIGURES

* A race called the Lincolnshire Handicap was first run over two miles at Lincoln in August, 1849.

* In 1853, a new fixture was staged at Lincoln in February and featured a race called the Lincoln Spring Handicap, run over a mile and a half and won by Caurire. The distance of this contest was reduced to a mile in 1855 and moved to a date in March.

* In 1859, the two races merged to become the Lincolnshire Handicap, run over a mile in March.

* The Lincolnshire Handicap was run at Lincoln (AThe Carholme@) up to and including 1964. Following that course’s closure, the race moved to Doncaster in 1965 and was renamed the Lincoln Handicap.

* Along with the Grand National, the William Hill Lincoln forms the ASpring Double.@ Jockey Dave Dick achieved the unique distinction of winning both races - he scored in the Lincoln of 1941 on Gloaming, carrying just 7st 4lb and went to triumph in the ADevon Loch@ Grand National of 1956 on ESB, who shouldered 11st 3lb to victory.

* During World War II, three runnings were held at Pontefract (1943-1945). The 1916 renewal was at Lingfield, while there was no race in 1917 or 1918 due to World War I. Due to ,34 million redevelopment at Doncaster, the 2006 renewal was held at Redcar, while in 2007 the race was hosted by Newcastle. It returned to a revamped Doncaster in 2008.

* The dozen winners of the William Hill Lincoln between 1926 and 1937 (King Of Clubs (1926), Priory Park (1927), Dark Warrior (1928), Elton (1929), Leonidas II (1930), Knight Error (1931), Jerome Fandor (1932), Dorigen (1933), Play On (1934), Flamenco (1935), Overcoat (1936) and Marmaduke Jinks (1937)) gave their names to the horses used in the popular board game Totopoly.

* There have been only been two dual winners of the William Hill Lincoln - Ob (1906 & 1907) and Babur (1957 & 1958). No horse has managed to win more than once since the race was transferred to Town Moor.

* The biggest shocks came with the 100/1 shots King Of Clubs (1926), Elton (1929) and Jockey Treble (1947). Since it has been run at Doncaster, the biggest-price winner was the 50/1 shot Bronze Hill (1973) while there have been six 33/1 successes during the same period - Southwark Star (1975), Cuvee Charlie (1988), Evichstar (1990), Roving Minstrel (1995), Stone Ridge (1996) and Zucchero (2002).

* The shortest-price winner was Saucebox (1855, Evens). During its time at Doncaster, seven favourites have obliged - Riot Act (1966), Captains Wings (1978), Cataldi (1985), Right Wing (1999), John Ferneley (2000), Nimello (2001) and Stream Of Gold (2005).

* Since its transfer to Doncaster, the most successful trainer has been Paul Cole, with three wins (Kuala Lipis 1997, John Ferenely, 2000 and Nimello, 2001).

* No jockey has been able to win more than twice since 1965. Jimmy Fortune, Richard Quinn and Jimmy Quinn are the only current jockeys to have ridden two winners, joining Scobie Breasley, Sandy Barclay, Edward Hide and Greville Starkey. The Lincoln was one of the few races to elude Lester Piggott.

* Since 1965, Cataldi (1985) and Babodana (2004) share the honour of having carried the biggest weight to victory - 9st 10lb. The lowest winning weight during the same period was the 7st 3lb carried by Southwark Star (1975).