Talking Horses: Rogue Bear can put trainer in clover with Lincoln prize

William Haggas’s Mujtaba, the likely favourite for Saturday’ Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster, is a lightly-raced four-year-old with the potential to be a Group-class performer before too long, which is very much the profile of recent winners of this historic handicap.

That list includes Haggas’s Addeybb, who landed three Group Ones after winning on Town Moor in 2018, but while Mujtaba has obvious claims for this year’s renewal, several of his opponents arrive with similar records.

Saleymm and Modern News, a half-brother to last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner, Modern Games, both have scope for significant improvement, while Darkness, who was campaigned in Group One company at two and has been gelded since joining David O’Meara from Jean-Claude Rouget over the winter, is another fascinating candidate.

At the likely prices, though, the best option from among the lightly-raced four-year-olds is Rogue Bear (3.35) at around 20-1.

Unraced at two, Tom Clover’s gelding won three of his five starts in 2021 and has crept in at the bottom of the weights on Saturday. He progressed from race-to-race last season, dead-heated in a useful time on his final start of the campaign and sets out on what promises to be a productive campaign just 2lb higher in the weights.

Doncaster 1.15 Eve Johnson Houghton has a healthy level-stakes profit with juveniles on debut over the last five years, so it would be no great surprise if Blatant has been primed to repeat the stable’s Brocklesby win with Chipotle 12 months ago.

Kelso 1.35 Son Of The Somme has just one win to show for his steady progress in four starts this season, but he was 15 lengths in front of the third horse home when touched off by a neck at Doncaster earlier this month. He