15:35 Lincoln Handicap The flat is back! After the excitement of Cheltenham the other week and the Grand National Not far away we have the return of turf flat racing sandwiched in between. The big showpiece race sees us head up to Doncaster for the one mile cavalry charge that is The Lincoln Handicap. The lightly raced, Godolphin owned Auxerre is set to go off a relatively short priced favourite. After three back to back victories it’s easy to see why he’s so well fancied but this race looks a completely different kettle of fish to what he’s been competing in previously. The horse could potentially be very good indeed but from a punting point of view it’s tricky to side with a horse at such short odds when there’s value to be had in such a large field. At a big price the Richard Fahey trained Third Time Lucky looks to have a very credible chance, especially after his third placed run in a Lincoln Trial last time out. According to weather reports there’s meant to be rain heading to Doncaster on Saturday but the big question is when does it hit and will it get into the ground? If the ground starts to turn soft expect Third Time Lucky’s chances to vastly improve but if the sun is set to shine expect his chances to dwindle. He still looks decent value at the current prices but those looking to back him will need to do a rain dance. Despite being eight years old Alan King’s Chatez may do better than his price suggests. A winner of the Spring Mile back in 2015 shows he acts over the course and distance and is unbeaten here at Doncaster. Exploits over obstacles have been fair and for a horse of his age he’s reasonably lightly raced. It’s probably fair to say he’s not quite the force of a few years back and isn’t quite up to this level but shouldn’t be readily discounted. As with the aforementioned Third Time Lucky it the rain begins to plumit expect a good showing from Raydiance. Was disappointing at the end of last term but it seems like Karl Burke could potentially have something up his sleeve with this outsider so keep your eyes peeled for any major market moves with this one. The one that gets the nod hails from an in-form yard and has an in-form jockey booked to ride. Trainer Alan King and jockey Andrea Atzeni don’t often combine but they do so here with Beringer. A very consistent horse who only finished out of the first three once in his last seven outings. It’s interesting to see the horse drop down to a mile after being campaigned over ten furlongs of late and if he can handle the hustle and bustle of a big runner Handicap looks a decent each way shout at a current double figure price. BERINGER (E/W) THIRD TIME LUCKY (E/W)
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