William Hill Lincoln |
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| Heritage Handicap Doncaster 15:35 £150,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m, Class 2  |
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The long winter begins to loosen its grip as attention turns, as it always does, to Doncaster and the William Hill Lincoln, that familiar hinge between promise and proof at the outset of a new Flat season.
Among those being readied with that prize in mind is La Botte, a colt who hinted at rather more than he ultimately had the chance to show at three. Trained in Newmarket by Harry Eustace, the son of Too Darn Hot came within a neck of landing the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot, a performance that marked him down as one to follow before circumstances rather intervened.
That Ascot effort proved to be his final start of the campaign, and it was not until a recent reappearance in the Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton that he returned to competitive action, finishing fourth in a run that, by design, was as much about reacquaintance as result.
“He seems in good order, he obviously hadn’t run since Ascot last year and we were very keen to get a run into him,” said Eustace.
“He was a little bit jarred up after Ascot and then he was potentially going to go to Australia, so that changed how we campaigned him though there wasn’t actually anything stopping him from getting to the track.
“In the end his owners decided to give him another season here and as he hadn’t run for a long time, we were keen, mentally, to get him to the races.
“He’s going to carry a lot of weight, but he seems in good order. I’ve always thought he actually wanted a bit of juice in the ground so the going doesn’t put us off at all, if anything we’re quite looking forward to running him on it.”
If La Botte arrives with unfinished business, Mississippi River brings a more established, if still developing, profile to the same contest. Entered for the Lincoln Heritage Handicap on March 28, the four-year-old represents a blend of solid Ballydoyle experience and a pedigree that invites a degree of optimism.
BRAVE Mississippi River gets up to land the 3.30 Glenvale Stud Stakes at Tipperary
— AIDANOBRIENFANSITE (@aobrienfansite) August 31, 2025
He showed plenty of guts and a will to win there pic.twitter.com/plrX9OKnKa
By Lope De Vega and out of the Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Cursory Glance, he won three of his 12 starts for Aidan O’Brien and was placed on seven further occasions, a record that speaks of consistency without quite touching the higher rungs of the ladder.
There is, however, depth beneath the surface. His dam’s top-level success and the presence of Listed winner Tinker Toy among his siblings offer reassurance that progression at four would be no surprise.
Taken together, they form part of a Lincoln picture that is, as ever, a mixture of the lightly raced and the well-travelled, each bringing their own narrative to Town Moor as the season stirs into life once more.
William Hill Lincoln (Heritage Handicap)
106 entries
Going:
NO. FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY (form as of Mar 17)
1 44559- Bolster 6 9-12 K R Burke
2 3-5148 Witch Hunter 7 9-9 Richard Hannon
3 43639- Checkandchallenge 7 9-9 William Knight
4 41-480 Crown Board 6 9-9 Jane Chapple-Hyam
5 /3585- Botanical 6 9-8 K R Burke
6 /142-4 La Botte 4 9-8 Harry Eustace
7 51135- Sallaal 4 9-7 Roger Varian
8 11500- Godwinson 6 9-6 Jack Channon
9 08046- Grey's Monument 6 9-5 Rebecca Menzies
10 30714- Shout 4 9-5 Simon & Ed Crisford
11 25330- Arisaig 5 9-5 Charlie Johnston
12 003-41 Apiarist 5 9-5 Kevin Ryan
13 12451- Mississippi River 4 9-4 A P O'Brien
14 12/34- Spectacular View 4 9-4 Charlie Appleby
15 12240- Great Acclaim 5 9-4 Eve Johnson Houghton
16 4102-7 Thunder Roar 7 9-4 Tony Coyle & Kaine Wood
17 5/29-6 Anno Domini 4 9-4 Charlie Appleby
18 15309- Urban Lion 5 9-2 Jack Channon
19 72156- Nizam 4 9-2 Ian Williams
20 5-6094 Flight Plan 6 9-2 K R Burke
21 27200- Tarkhan 7 9-0 Jamie Osborne
22 42111- Eternal Force 4 9-0 William Haggas
23 /4033- Valvano 5 9-0 Ralph Beckett
24 35212- Hickory 8 9-0 Jamie Osborne
25 30-121 The Lost King 4 9-0 Andrew Balding
26 15117- Mudbir 4 8-13 John & Thady Gosden
27 05342- Galeron 6 8-13 Charles Hills
28 51111- Rogue Diplomat 4 8-13 James Owen
29 0220-0 Whip Cracker 5 8-13 Richard Hughes
30 13461- Sea Force 4 8-13 William Haggas
31 27-500 Bravais 6 8-13 Ian Williams
32 -71009 Sean 9 8-12 Jamie Osborne
33 34000- Greek Order 6 8-12 Michael Bell
34 6/670- Ouzo 10 8-12 Jamie Osborne
35 13447- Al Arbeed 4 8-12 Richard Hannon
36 36750- Mirabeau 4 8-12 Dominic Ffrench Davis
37 3980-0 Orandi 8 8-12 A J Martin
38 72508- Theoryofeverything 6 8-12 David O'Meara
39 31010- Jagged Edge 4 8-11 Stephen Thorne
40 20226- Alpha Crucis 6 8-11 Gary & Josh Moore
41 96107- Tribal Chief 5 8-11 David Menuisier
42 0157-0 Pink Oxalis 5 8-11 Stephen Thorne
43 49/00- Metal Merchant 6 8-11 Brian Toomey
44 428-40 Superposition 5 8-10 Ed Dunlop
45 1601-0 Christian David 5 8-10 Richard Hannon
46 1812-2 First Principle 4 8-10 William Haggas
47 4795-0 Oliver Show 6 8-10 George Boughey
48 94460- Bopedro 10 8-9 David O'Meara
49 3/020- Dashing Darcey 5 8-9 Geoffrey Harker
50 710-08 Angel Hunter 4 8-9 Richard Hannon
51 53-450 Unassuming 6 8-8 George Boughey
52 157-85 Great Chieftain 5 8-8 Oliver Cole
53 95473- La Trinidad 9 8-8 Roger Fell
54 6240-6 Sterling Knight 7 8-8 Ed Dunlop
55 92009- Sisyphean 5 8-8 Richard Spencer
56 811-64 Far From Dandy 4 8-8 Stephen Thorne
57 132/1- Celeborn 4 8-8 George Boughey
58 30-023 Spangled Mac 7 8-7 George Boughey
59 276-67 First Ambition 5 8-7 K R Burke
60 31112- Forty Years On 4 8-6 George Scott
61 05345- Principality 4 8-6 Harry Eustace
62 5-1252 Talis Evolvere 6 8-6 Richard Hannon
63 /26-93 Harvey 4 8-6 Ian Williams
64 211/7/ Desert Order 6 8-6 Maurice Andrew Ahern
65 /1104- Cadarn 5 8-6 Kevin Ryan
66 44070- Perfect Part 4 8-5 Brian Ellison
67 58700- Thunder Wonder 4 8-5 Charlie Johnston
68 781-53 Invited 4 8-5 George Boughey
69 47242- Cogitate 5 8-5 Charles Hills
70 4009-3 Sir Paul Ramsey 4 8-4 Charlie Johnston
71 06141- Desperate Dan 5 8-4 Peter Chapple-Hyam
72 0717-9 Knights Gold 4 8-4 Dr Richard Newland & Jamie Insole
73 119- Vincent Rocks 4 8-4 Hugo Palmer
74 59794- Intrusively 4 8-3 Michael Appleby
75 14603- Classic Encounter 5 8-3 George Boughey
76 52127- Mezcala 4 8-3 Jack Channon
77 15654- Hot Cash 4 8-3 Jack Channon
78 21295- Empirestateofmind 8 8-2 John & Sean Quinn
79 003-19 Mostar Dreams 5 8-2 Adrian Paul Keatley
80 4021- Naples 4 8-2 Steph Hollinshead
81 14103- Master Richard 7 8-2 Ann Duffield
82 51531- Rainbow Nebula 4 8-1 Richard Fahey
83 -73032 Epictetus 6 8-1 Jamie Osborne
84 2-6708 Good Morning Alex 5 8-0 David & Nicola Barron
85 1/20-6 Degale 5 8-0 David & Nicola Barron
86 7112-9 Perry Mason 5 8-0 Maurice Andrew Ahern
87 17-361 Carron 4 8-5 George Boughey
88 03511- Lir Speciale 7 8-0 Brian Ellison
89 42513- Indian Spirit 4 8-0 Ian Williams
90 31261- Milteye 6 8-0 Harriet Bethell
91 /5001- Prosperitas 4 8-0 T J Kent
92 -11655 High On Hope 4 8-0 Michael Appleby
93 23339- White Crown Star 4 7-12 Ian Williams
94 22401- Nyman 4 7-12 Roger Fell
95 1300-2 Pressure's On 5 7-11 Ed Dunlop
96 09541- Empire Of Light 5 7-10 Grant Tuer
97 85642- On The River 7 7-10 Harriet Bethell
98 65217- Le Sid 4 7-9 Ian Williams
99 177P0- Zowal 4 7-9 John & Sean Quinn
100 13-793 Uniting 4 7-9 Ian Williams
101 07-540 Tolstoy 7 7-8 Brian Ellison
102 2-2172 Flying Fletcher 5 7-6 Richard Fahey
103 8056-3 Havana Prince 5 7-6 Tony Coyle & Kaine Wood
104 12211D- Say What You See 4 7-5 Liam Bailey
105 3813-3 Atmosphere 4 7-4 Richard Spencer
106 21-131 Tonal 6 6-4 Ian Williams
