Flat racing on turf returns to Britain this weekend and Doncaster’s Lincoln meeting is the traditional curtain-raiser. The ground at Doncaster is currently heavy so soft ground is the best we can hope for on Saturday. With this in mind, we’ve picked out a 20-1 shot who loves testing ground and could be worth a play in the Lincoln. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
The Gatekeeper (20/1, William Hill) improved significantly throughout last season and testing ground will suit Charlie Johnston’s five-year-old. He was last seen winning the valuable Balmoral Handicap on Champions’ Day at Ascot and has been pushed up 4lb as a result. That was a career best performance and he’ll need to produce another to win here but further progress shouldn’t be ruled out.
Four and five-year-olds have won seven of the last nine renewals of this race and that trend bodes well for The Gatekeeper’s chances. Two of his three turf victories last season came on soft ground and he would perhaps like the ground to dry out a little from its current state.
He was fifth in the Spring Mile on heavy ground last year but he’d won at Newcastle before that on his first start for 625 days and may have bounced. Finishing fifth off a mark of 90 that day, the gelding has clearly improved since then.
Kevin Ryan’s Chuzzlewit (66/1, William Hill) returned to winning ways at Newcastle last time out and carries a 5lb penalty as a result. The four-year-old is still lightly raced in handicaps and it’s unlikely that we’ve seen the best of him yet. It might be worth waiting to see if he’s in Thursday’s final declarations but he may well outrun these odds if lining up.
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