Expert Panel: Weekend Racing tips including Doncaster, Kempton and the Curragh

The Flat is back. Who do you fancy in the Lincoln?

Andrew Asquith: It looks an excellent renewal and it is La Botte who has been the name on everyone’s lips following his eye-catching return at Wolverhampton. The return to a straight mile will be much more suitable and he could be a pattern-class performer masquerading as a handicapper, but the market tells you that. Similar sentiments apply to Eternal Force, who represents a trainer with a brilliant record in the race, but I put up Shout in my Weekend View column on Tuesday and I will stick by him. He bolted up in a strongly-run race on ground the softer side of good at Ascot two starts ago and I thought he still looked on a good mark when finishing fourth in the Balmoral when last seen. He wasn’t best away that day, which can often be the case, but was rushed up into a more prominent position than usual in a race which wasn’t as truly run. Shout remains one with more to offer this season and these big-field handicaps bring out the best in him.

John Ingles: A couple of progressive four-year-olds head the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings so this could boil down to a tussle between La Botte and Eternal Force. The former caught the eye on his reappearance in the Trial at Wolverhampton but with the going forecast to be on the soft side, underfoot conditions are an unknown where he’s concerned. There are no such doubts about Eternal Force, on the other hand. The last two legs of his autumn hat-trick came on ground softer than good, signing off with a ready success at Haydock. He can give William Haggas and Ceiren Fallon their second successive Lincoln win after Godwinson last year.

David Ord: I think Valvano is an interesting bet at current prices. It’s taken connections an age to work him out but there was enough on his final start over Saturday’s course-and-distance to suggest he’s going to be a player in races like this in 2026. In very good hands, he travelled like the best horse in the race through the contest won by Desperate Dan but having shown a smart turn of foot to come through horses and hit the front, he idled when in the clear and was reeled in. Ridden with more restraint off a stronger pace, he could be an entirely different proposition at the weekend, and blinkers go on for the first time.

Who else takes the eye at Doncaster?

Andrew Asquith: I’m looking forward to Montassib returning in the Cammidge. He made a winning return in this race two years ago and went on to win the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock later in the season. Things didn’t go to plan last year, not making his return until September and it was in a race over five furlongs. He caught the eye that day, finishing with a real flourish, but he failed to build on that in two starts after, the latest in a listed even over this course and distance. Montassib isn’t getting any younger, but goes well when fresh, likes a bit of cut in the ground, and this track suits his run style.

John Ingles: My Mate Alfie looks interesting making his first start for David O’Meara in the Cammidge Trophy (13:50). He cost his new connections 250,000 guineas at the Horses In Training Sale but they’ve got themselves a smart sprinter who won five races in Ireland for Ger Lyons. Admittedly he drew a blank last season, meaning he avoids any penalties here, but he looked as good as ever, including when narrowly beaten in a listed race on the Irish Derby card which he’d won the year before. He faced a stiffer task in the Sprint Cup later in the year under firmer conditions than ideal but should have no excuses on that score here.

David Ord: He hasn’t been missed in the market, but I think Mezcala has a massive chance in the Spring Mile. He’s only run in two handicaps to date, finishing second to Special Ghaiyyath at Haydock (denied a clear run at a crucial stage) and seemingly not getting home over nine furlongs at Newmarket next time. Low mileage and from the family of a Lincoln winner in Johan, he looks the sort who could be rated significantly higher than his current perch of 85 by season-end.

What do you think to Aidan O’Brien giving Albert Einstein a run in the Gladness Stakes over 7f at the Curragh when it comes to his 2000 Guineas chances?

Andrew Asquith: It’s an interesting one. The ground at the Curragh will still be on the testing side this weekend, and you would imagine Aidan won’t want him to have too hard of a race with the Guineas just around the corner. However, he clearly feels it necessary, and it will certainly tell us more about what kind of heart he’s in after his lay-off, and whether he’s likely to stay a mile. O’Brien has held no secret to the regard in which he’s held, but the run will no doubt sharpen him up, and it could be he’s heads and shoulders above these. If that is the case, expect his odds to be slashed for Newmarket.

John Ingles: It’s quite an old-school approach to use this race as a 2000 Guineas trial when you see that Vincent O’Brien won this back in the day with the likes of Nijinsky, Lomond and El Gran Senor who all went on to win the Guineas. Older horses have mostly dominated more recently, though Aidan O’Brien did win this with Albert Einstein’s relative Giant’s Causeway before he finished second in his Guineas bid. Albert Einstein’s appearance should at least tell us more regarding his chances of getting the Guineas trip and if he’s to justify his position at the head of the Guineas betting, he’ll need to make short work of some smart older rivals that he faces here.

David Ord: It’s a positive to me – mainly because the policy of going straight to Newmarket has hardly proved a success for the Ballydoyle team in recent weeks. Yes, you can take the quotes from Aidan with a pinch of salt about his speed but he did spend much of last summer and autumn bemoaning the setback the son of Wootton Bassett had suffered. The Gladness, in against seasoned pros, will be a chance to get any freshness out of his system and teach him to race at the different tempo he’ll face as he goes up in trip. It’s no penalty kick but if he wins and wins well it will significantly enhance his Newmarket claims.

The Doncaster card is supported on ITV by some good all-weather action at Kempton – who will you be looking out for there?

Andrew Asquith: Glittering Surf is one who I like in the Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes. She was very impressive when winning her first two starts over this course and distance, winning the conditions event for fillies on this card 12 months ago and, though she failed to go on from that on turf afterwards, she could well resume her progression back on an artificial surface. I’ve question marks over Survie back at a mile for the first time since her two-year-old days and Glittering Surf looks just the type to kick on again as a four-year-old. There’s plenty to like about her from a physical standpoint and, for all Owen Burrows hasn’t had many runners of late, he knows how to get one ready – this has likely been a plan for a while.

John Ingles: A handful of the colts in the conditions race at 16:28 hold classic entries and the one worth keeping a close eye on here is King’s Trail for Charlie Appleby. Entered in both the 2000 Guineas and Derby, he earned the Timeform ‘large P’ when quickening away with a novice over course and distance on his debut in December. He’s by Sea The Stars, so you’d expect him to be suited by longer distances in due course, but the way he quickly put that race to bed shows that he’s by no means short of speed, hence his Guineas entry, and there’s a good chance he’ll improve quite a bit on that really promising start.

David Ord: I like the look of Golden Redemption in the opener. He did nothing but improve for Andrew Balding last season, winning at Newbury in August and got going too late when dropped to six furlongs at Newmarket on his final start. Back to a front-running ride over seven on Saturday he’ll take a fair bit of pegging back.

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