With the Aintree Grand National and Punchestown Festivals still to come, the 2025/26 National Hunt campaign still has a few highlights up its sleeve. However, this weekend sees the Flat action take centre stage as the new season begins at Doncaster.
As ever, the historic Lincoln Handicap tops the bill on the Town Moor card, as a field of talented milers do battle for £150,000 in total prize money. Always one of the most popular betting events of the spring, the Lincoln is equally accustomed to a successful gamble as it is to a shock result. With the final field confirmed for 2026, several contenders may fall into that latter category, but it is a lightly raced four-year-old who has shot to the head of the market.
High Hopes for Harry Eustace Star
With a first career Group 1 win in the Queen Anne Stakes, swiftly followed by a second in the Commonwealth Cup, 2025 was a year to remember for Newmarket handler Harry Eustace. No doubt further top-tier success will feature high on Harry’s wish list for 2026, but a win in the season’s first headline handicap would be a nice way to kick things off. In the Too Darn Hot colt, La Botte, he may have the horse to do just that.
Having raced only once in 2024, La Botte landed a maiden event on his first outing of 2025 before coming up short in a Listed event at Newmarket. Dropped into handicap company for the Britannia Stakes at Ascot – held over a straight mile, much like the Lincoln – he ran a fantastic race to go down by just a neck at the line. Having been forced to wait for the gap to open on the stands rail that day, it is easy to imagine he might have won with a clear passage. He’s 5lb higher here but again caught the eye when fourth in the Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton in March, and has the services of the excellent Jamie Spencer in the saddle.
Eternal a Force to Reckon With
Narrowly behind La Botte in the market is a horse hailing from the yard of a man who knows what it takes to succeed in the Lincoln. Winning the race for the first time with High Low in 1992 and most recently with Godwinson in 2025, William Haggas’s five victories make him the most successful trainer in the history of this 173-year-old contest.
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Weight | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | High Low | Jimmy Quinn | 8st 0lbs | 16/1 |
| 2007 | Very Wise | Joe Fanning | 8st 11lbs | 9/1 |
| 2010 | Penitent | Johnny Murtagh | 9st 2lbs | 3/1 |
| 2018 | Addeybb | James Doyle | 9st 2lbs | 5/1 |
| 2025 | Godwinson | Cieren Fallon | 9st 4lbs | 15/2 |
In 2026, Haggas relies upon the four-timer-seeking Eternal Force. Sporting the silks of Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum, this nicely bred sort (by Dubawi and out of a winning Galileo mare) has responded positively to a summer gelding operation. Zero from four before the procedure, he is unbeaten in three outings since, with all three wins coming over this 1m trip. He’s up 8lb for that latest success at Haydock, but could scarcely have won any easier and may well have more to offer.
Decent Shout for Crisford Contender
Simon & Ed Crisford have yet to win the Lincoln, but the father and son training duo have come pretty close – finishing second with Saleymm in 2022 and again filling the runners-up position with Awaal in 2023. Could this be the year they go one better?
Carrying the same Gail Brown colours as the 2023 winner Migration, Shout brings an appealing profile into the race. A course winner, having claimed a 6f event here in his two-year-old season, he also has excellent form in 1m handicaps. His most recent effort saw him finish a fine fourth in the Balmoral Handicap on British Champions Day, when he was only beaten by 1¾ lengths despite starting slowly. He’s 1lb higher here, but a repeat of that Ascot effort could see him go close.
Anno Domini’s Year?
Whilst most associated with his Group race prowess, Godolphin number one Charlie Appleby has two Lincoln wins to his name. The sadly ill-fated Auxerre was the most recent to prevail in 2019, three years after Appleby broke his Lincoln duck with Secret Brief.
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Weight | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Secret Brief | William Buick | 9st 4lbs | 12/1 |
| 2019 | Auxerre | James Doyle | 9st 2lbs | 5/2 |
This year, the Godolphin challenge rests on the shoulders of Anno Domini. Snapped up for 525,000 GNS at the 2020 Craven Breeze-up sale, this son of New Approach initially looked like a sound investment. Winning each of his first two outings, he was held in high enough regard to plunge into the Group 1 Futurity Trophy on only his third career start. That proved a step too far, and he raced only twice during a 2025 campaign interrupted by a gelding procedure.
Making his return when ninth in a Listed event at Meydan, he took a big step forward when fifth in a competitive handicap at that track in January – doing well to finish as close as he did, having been forced very wide in the straight. Following a similar path to the race as 2016 winner Secret Brief, he could go well with Toby (son of Ryan) Moore taking off a handy 7lb in the saddle.
Others to note in a typically competitive renewal include the five-timer seeking Rogue Diplomat, and Irish raider Orandi, who finished a close third in 2025. Find out who comes out on top at 3:32pm on Saturday.