Get the Timeform View on the Lincoln at Doncaster on Saturday.
It looks a typically competitive renewal of the long-standing Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster on Saturday and it is current market leader La Botte (120p) who is top rated on Timeform weight-adjusted ratings.
He has the profile of an archetypal Lincoln horse, being a lightly-raced four-year-old who is likely to be plying his trade in pattern company later in the year, and he also has experience in big-field handicaps.
La Botte was arguably unlucky not to win the Britannia at Royal Ascot last year, beaten only a neck but also encountering trouble in-running on two separate occasions. The fact he almost won despite a less-than-ideal passage marked him out as some way ahead of his mark and a subsequent 5lb rise was justified.
He confirmed that with an eye-catching reappearance in the trial for this at Wolverhampton three weeks ago, hard to fathom why the stewards didn’t look into the performance given the position he was put in and the consideration in which he was ridden.
A turning course like Wolverhampton wouldn’t be an obvious track he’d excel at, and his run style is much better suited to a straight, galloping mile. He is very much in the mould of older stablemate Docklands, who was a winner of the Britannia before graduating to Group 1 honours in the Queen Anne last year, and connections will be hoping La Botte can also reach such heights.
La Botte is closely followed in the ratings by the William Haggas-trained Eternal Force (119p), who finished last season on a roll, completing a hat-trick at Haydock on his final start. He quickened up like a smart prospect that day and in the immediate aftermath connections mentioned the Lincoln as a potential early-season target.
Therefore, he’s clearly been trained with this race in mind, and could hardly be in better hands given he represents a trainer who has won this race four times since 2007. An 8lb rise leaves him potentially well treated, especially as he’s open to further improvement, highlighted by the ‘small p’ attached to his rating.
Another interesting contender is Valvano (117) who remains with just a debut success to his name, but has since showed very solid form in handicaps up to a mile and a quarter. He went like the best horse at the weights when last seen over this course and distance in October – hitting a low of 1.12 in-running on Betfair – and he’s a Horse In Focus as a result.
Valvano left the firm impression he’d have benefited from being held onto for longer that day, so expect this strong traveller to be delivered late in the day, and he’s still unexposed as a mile.
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