How’s it going?
Funny time of year, isn’t it?
Flat racing gets underway at Doncaster on Saturday afternoon, prior to the clocks going forward in the evening.
The first big race of the Flat season is the Lincoln at Doncaster.
Jumps racing quietly ticks over in the background, before Easter’s Irish Grand National next weekend, and then the Grand National itself a week later.
Overall, it’s a strange crossover period in the calendar.
But, we’re here to steer you in the right direction throughout.
Think of us as your own racing toolkit 🧰
Weekend Info
👉 There are three big betting races apart from the Lincoln:
Spring Mile at Doncaster
Rosebery Handicap at Kempton
Ulster National at Downpatrick on Sunday
👉 Trainer Aidan O’Brien – Ireland’s equivalent to Willie Mullins on the Flat – has already hit the mark this term. His last five runners finished: 3rd, 1st, 3rd, 1st, 1st.
👉 O’Brien has the current favourite for May’s 2,000 Guineas, Albert Einstein, who makes his seasonal return at the Curragh on Saturday.
👉 The Dubai World Cup is live on Sky Sports Racing (4.45). The winner picks up just over £5m.
👉 Jockey Billy Loughnane, who rode a record 222 winners in 2025, has been banned for 21 days until 1 May.
👉 The 2016 Champion Flat Jockey Jim Crowley is out injured until June.
👉 At Doncaster’s two-day meeting, be wary of the first three in the betting. In the last five years at this very meeting, £1 placed on these runners returned a -£114 loss.
However, £1 placed on every horse from fourth to fifth in the betting returned +£124.
Be brave and look for value 💪
The Lincoln: What You Need To Know
The Lincoln was first run in 1853…hang on, we’re not here for a history lesson 🥱
In short, it’s the traditional curtain-raiser for the Flat season.
Run over a straight mile at Doncaster with around 20+ runners.
If you’re looking to back the winner, here are some clues…
► Weight - Only one Lincoln winner carried more than 9st9lb since 2004.
► Age - Runners aged four and five have the best record.
► Trainers - Yards from the south won 8 of the last 10 Lincolns.
► Days - The last 17 Lincoln winners hadn’t raced for 135 days or longer.
► Track - None of the last 10 Lincoln winners ran at Doncaster more than once.
Avoid: Runners that previously ran in the Lincoln or ran at Wolverhampton last time.
Our Lincoln shortlist: Eternal Force, Shout, Urban Lion.
What The Numbers Reveal
We’ve looked at the Lincoln, so now let’s examine the weekend’s other big races.
Below are the Pros and Cons from previous winners’ profiles of these races.
These can include a horse’s age, odds, or winning form.
Use the clues to find the winner yourself, or jump straight to the paddock shortlist…
🧱 Bet Builder Club
You’re a lucky lot!
The Paddock Report’s algorithm has once again dug out Saturday’s diamonds in the rough to ‘make the frame’ 💎
We’ll leave it to you to choose how many places for those acca’s…
..but make sure to seek out those bookies with extended place odds 🔍
1.25 Curragh Slaney View - Placed 2 times from 2 over 5f
1.40 Stratford Watamu - Placed 3 times from 3 in class 4 or class 5 races
1.50 Doncaster Montassib - Placed 4 times from 5 after a 61-day break or longer
2.15 Stratford Hecouldbetheone - Placed 6 times from 7 left-hand with cheekpieces
2.35 Uttoxeter Crazierthandaisy - Placed 7 times from 7 at left-handed tracks
2.47 Stratford Classic King - Placed 8 times from 9 on good ground
2.57 Doncaster Qirat - Placed 6 times from 7 following a 31 to 365-day break
3.05 Curragh Ten Bob Tony - Placed 2 times from 3 after a 121 to 365-day break
3.08 Uttoxeter Walk On High - Placed 5 times from 7 with 11 runners or less
3.45 Uttoxeter The Long Point - Placed 3 times from 4 on good to soft/soft ground
4.33 Stratford Two To Tango - Placed 4 times from 5 over 2m1½f to 2m4f
5.00 Southwell Ancient State - Placed 2 times from 2 over 5f
5.08 Stratford Morning Mayhem - Placed 3 times from 4 with Kielan Woods riding
5.30 Southwell Rusheen Boy - Placed 4 times from 6 over 6f-7f at Southwell
The Traitors (Favourites To Avoid)
Not all favourites win.
Here are several that may be worth taking on this weekend…
2.15 Stratford – Junker Dallier
Not proven over this far and best going right-handed (1-8 going left-handed).
4.20 Uttoxeter – Libre De Choeur
Faces different conditions than last month’s win. That was over 3m on heavy ground under a different jockey.
4.33 Stratford – Gotthereintheend
Record in class 4 races is 0-6, and both wins came over further.
Trainers To Follow
The team nominated Harry Fry and Emma Lavelle this weekend.
Fry was put forward here last week, and his only runner was pulled up! However, he’s enjoyed a few midweek winners since.
As for Emma Lavelle, she’s trained 6 winners and 2 runners-up from 14 runners since 14 March, including a midweek treble.
Derham’s Saturday runners:
3.08 Uttoxeter – Walk On High
4.55 Uttoxeter – Itsallfrenchtome
Lavelle’s Saturday runners:
1.40 Stratford – Watamu
2.47 Stratford – Classic King
3.45 Uttoxeter – The Long Point
4.33 Stratford – Two To Tango
Saturday’s Stat Sheet
We’ve made it easy with our Stat Sheet, taking you through Saturday in time order.
The sheet points up our well-researched angles for each chosen race.
The Purist
Once again, The Purist keeps it pure and simple.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien has made a fast start to the Irish Flat season with three winners, all ridden by Ryan Moore.
The partnership team-up in four races at the Curragh:
1.25 Closely
3.05 Albert Einstein
3.40 Lewis Carroll
4.50 George Stubbs
📺 Quick TV Guide
► ITV (free): Saturday: Doncaster 1.20, 1.50, 2.25, 2.57, 3.32; Kempton 2.08, 2.42. 3.13
► Sky Sports Racing (free): Saturday: Doncaster, Southwell, Uttoxeter. Sunday: Ascot, Doncaster.
► Racing TV (subscription): Saturday: Kempton, Stratford, Curragh. Sunday: Downpatrick.
We Almost Forgot…
Constitution Hill made it 2-2 on the Flat in midweek. He now steps up in class for Newbury’s John Porter Stakes on 18 April.
Final Orders, who won Cheltenham’s Cross Country Chase, heads next for Aintree’s Grand National.
The record-breaking Ka Ying Rising goes for his 19th-straight victory in Hong Kong on Easter Monday.
Next weekend is Easter 🐣
The Irish Grand National takes place on Easter Monday ☘️
Don’t worry if you know nothing about that race - you will this time next week 📊
Until then, put your clocks forward on Saturday night ⏰…
..watch out for those April Fool’s Day pranks on Wednesday 🤡, and…
.. definitely keep ‘em peeled 👀
The Paddock Report Team.