Auxerre on course for tilt at Lincoln

Godolphin’s lightly-raced performer Auxerre is among 56 horses left in at the five-day stage for the Unibet Lincoln at Doncaster on Saturday.

Auxerre on course for tilt at Lincoln

Godolphin’s lightly-raced performer Auxerre is among 56 horses left in at the five-day stage for the Unibet Lincoln at Doncaster on Saturday. The exciting four-year-old, trained by Charlie Appleby, heads the ante-post market for the famous one-mile handicap that heralds the start of the British Flat season, despite having just had four career starts, winning the last three.

His last two wins were on all-weather tracks at Chelmsford and Kempton, with his runs on grass at Newmarket and Haydock being on good to firm ground. Though conditions at Doncaster were described as good to soft on Monday, clerk of the course Roderick Duncan expects the going to dry out to good or even faster by Saturday.

“It’s good to soft at the moment and drying,” said Duncan. “It’s a dry forecast, so temperatures are not expected to drop for a bit. I anticipate it drying out to achieve good ground, possibly a bit quicker than that.”

While Appleby took this traditional curtain-raiser with Secret Brief in 2016, it was back in 1983 trainer David Elsworth struck for the one and only time so far with Mighty Fly. He now looks to bridge the gap with Ripp Orf, who won two valuable seven-furlong handicaps at Ascot last season.

Gabrial, the winner in 2015, is one of eight standing his ground for the Richard Fahey. Others for the Musley Bank handler are Third Time Lucky, Great Prospector, Brian The Snail, Starlight Romance, Crownthorpe, Delph Crescent and Calvados Spirit. David Barron has a leading contender in Kynren as the Thirsk handler goes for a second success in the Town Moor showpiece Amenable in 1991.

Other horses prominent in the ante-post betting include the David O’Meara-trained Humbert, Andrew Balding’s Zwayyan, Philip Kirby’s South Seas and Chiefofchiefs from Charlies Fellowes’ stable. The weights are headed by Remarkable from the O’Meara yard following the defection of Hathal. The sole Irish representative is Saltonstall, who would be having his first start for Dublin trainer Adrian McGuinness after leaving Michael Halford’s stable.

For horses that fail to make the cut for the Lincoln, there is a consolation race, the Unibet Spring Mile, on the same card. The vastly-experienced Barry Johnson has been appointed as the independent chair of a new Horse Welfare Board on behalf of the British racing industry.

A former president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Johnson worked closely with horse racing in his previous role as chairman at World Horse Welfare. He was appointed by an industry panel including the British Horseracing Authority, the Racecourse Association and the Horsemen’s Group. Johnson said: “I’m very pleased to have been asked by racing to take on this role and by the sport’s commitment to continuous improvement in the welfare of racehorses.

“I want to start by listening widely to those who work directly with horses in our industry as their experience and skills will be vital in shaping a new horse welfare strategy.”

The Welfare Board’s first task will be to develop a new welfare strategy covering the whole racing industry. It will look across the whole lifetime of racehorses - before, during and after they leave the sport. The Welfare Board will also ensure that the collective contribution to equine welfare is communicated effectively within the sport and outside.

The first meeting of the Horse Welfare Board will take place in the next few weeks. The Horsemen’s Group and the Racecourse Association will both be represented, while the BHA’s director of equine health and welfare, David Sykes, will also have a place. The Board will make initial recommendations by the end of 2019. Nick Rust, chief executive of the BHA, said: “The public has seen recently during the influenza outbreak how racing acts with great care and professionalism to manage the risk to racehorses.

“I expect the strategy to set out our ambition for bringing the same level of focus at all stages of the racehorse’s life and explaining this collectively and confidently to outside audiences.”

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