Karl Burke has a strong hand in this year’s William Hill Lincoln, worth £150,000, after he declared both Thunder Run and Native Warrior for the 1m handicap – a race he is yet to win. A total of 20 runners will go to post for the prestigious handicap contest at Doncaster which signals the start of the UK turf flat season.
Thunder Run won a major handicap at York’s Ebor Festival last summer which was backed up by another solid effort in defeat on British Champions Day. The Wathnan Racing-owned Native Warrior has been gelded since a disappointing effort over course-and-distance on his final start of 2024.
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Connections of Native Warrior will be doubly represented on Saturday after Midnight Gun was also declared for Hamad Al Jehani. The 4yo signed off last season with a fine effort in defeat when runner-up over course-and-distance.
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Orandi Represents Ireland
Orandi will attempt to end a 30 year drought in this race for the Irish. He won the Irish Lincolnshire earlier this month and no horse has ever completed the Anglo-Irish double in the same season.
Oliver Show has been the subject of market support all week for the George Boughey stable. This will be his first start on these shores since August last year after he has enjoyed a Winter campaign in Bahrain.
Not since the 1950’s has there been a dual winner of the Lincoln but Mr Professor will attempt to write his name into the history books and become just the third horse to do so. This will be just his second start for new trainer Raphael E Freire.
The Julie Camacho-trained Lattam finished just behind Mr Professor last year and must be respected given his tendency to run well in big field handicaps but his profile suggests he would appreciate more juice in the ground.
Irish Seek to End Three Decade Drought in Lincoln
It has been 30 years since the Irish last won the William Hill Lincoln but the consistent Orandi will aim to make history and become the first horse ever to complete the Anglo-Irish Lincoln double in the same season.
Latest William Hill Lincoln odds: Thunder Run 5/1f, Midnight Gun 6/1, Native Warrior 13/2, Lattam 10/1, Oliver Show 12/1, Godwinson 12/1, Orandi 12/1, BAR 14/1
All the major players have stood their ground in the William Hill Doncaster Mile Stakes (Listed) with a field of nine set to go to post including the Sheikh Mohammed Obaid-owned pair Botanical and Liberty Lane. This race was won last year by subsequent Group 1 scorer Charyn.
There have been only two defections in the William Hill Cammidge Trophy Stakes with nine runners declared. It will be fascinating to see how Marshman fares on his return to turf after looking revitalised since undergoing a gelding operation and wind surgery.
Racing gets underway at 1:15pm with the William Hill Top Price Guarantee EBF Brocklesby Stakes, with the action set to conclude at 5:20pm. The ground is currently described as Good to Soft.
Clerk of The Course, David Attwood, said: “We are currently good to soft, soft in places, with just 0.6mm of rain on Tuesday. Today should remain dry at around 17 degrees, and whilst Friday morning may see some scattered showers it should then remain dry through the weekend. That may lead to a bit of dry back, potentially with the soft coming out of the ground, but I anticipate remaining on the easy side for racing on Saturday.”
