With Ireland's Flat Turf season having commenced on Sunday, Britain follows suit this Saturday when the valuable Betway Lincoln Handicap takes centre stage at Doncaster.
Few trainers these days have the ammunition to attempt the 'Spring Double', which constitutes the Lincoln and the Grand National, but one successful dual-purpose trainer who has this notable aim in mind is Brian Ellison, who will unleash a pair of old favourites for the first half of the challenge.
Both Top Notch Tonto (Ire) (Thousand Words {GB}) and Dream Walker (Fr) (Gold Away {Ire}) are owned by Keith Brown and, now aged seven and eight respectively, are expected to take their place in the line-up for in the straight-mile contest which should be run on easy ground that will suit both horses.
Top Notch Tonto was bought for just €3,000 as a yearling and has won six races, including the G3 Superior Mile at Haydock, and two Listed contests. Dream Walker, meanwhile, was a £4,500 yearling and has now won nine times and been Listed-placed. The pair returned to action in the Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton on March 11.
“Everything is fine with both horses. It's all good,” reported Ellison, a former jump jockey who is also hoping to run Definitly Red (Ire) (Definite Article {GB}) in the following Saturday's Grand National, which is being sponsored by Randox Health for the first time this year.
A total of 91 horses stood their ground for the Lincoln at the confirmation stage, with a maximum field of 22 allowed to face the starter. The market is led by the Roger Varian-trained Morando (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), a treble winner last season for Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Doncaster's meeting on Saturday also includes the first British 2-year-old contest of the season, the Betway Brocklesby S., which was last year won by subsequent G1 Middle Park S. hero The Last Lion (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}), who is now standing at Darley's Kildangan Stud. Among the 28 possible contenders for this year's race is the David Griffiths-trained Angel Force (Ire), who, if declared on Thursday, would become the first runner for the dual Group 1-winning sprinter Lethal Force (Ire).
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