Lincoln Handicap

The Lincoln Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Doncaster in late March or early April.

Lincoln Handicap

Class	Handicap
Location	Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster, England
Inaugurated	1853
Race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
Sponsor	William Hill
Website	Doncaster
Race information
Distance	1 mile (1,609 metres)
Surface	Turf
Track	Straight
Qualification	Four-years-old and up
Weight	Handicap
Purse	£150,000 (2024) 1st: £77,310

Lincoln Handicap

2025
Godwinson	Oliver Show	Orandi

Previous years
2024
Mr Professor	Lattam	Navagio
2023
Migration	Awaal	Baradar
2022
Johan	Saleymm	Rogue Bear
2021
Haqeeqy	Brunch	Hortzadar

2020-2011
2019
Auxerre	Kynren	Beringer
2018
Addeybb	Lord Glitters	Mitchum Swagger
2017
Bravery	Oh This Is Us	Donncha
2016
Secret Brief	Bravo Zolo	Battle Of Marathon
2015
Gabrial	Mondialiste	Moohaarib
2014
Ocean Tempest	Tullius	Robert The Painter
2013
Levitate	Global Village	Brae Hill
2012
Brae Hill	Mull Of Killough	Fury
2011
Sweet Lightning	Brae Hill	Dubai Hills

2010-2001
2010
Penitent	Prime Exhibit	Mull Of Killough
2009
Expresso Star	Zaahid	Flipando
2008
Smokey Oakey	Blythe Knight	Babodana
2007
Very Wise	Rio Riva	Mutawaffer
2006
Blythe Knight	Royal Island	Capable Guest
2005
Stream of Gold	New Seeker	Common World
2004
Babodana	Quito	Dark Charm
2003
Pablo	Selective	Norton
2002
Zucchero	Adiemus	I Cried For You
2001
Nimello	Highland Reel	King Priam

2000-1991
2000
John Ferneley	King Priam	Right Wing
1999
Right Wing	Captain Scott	Night Of Glass
1998
Hunters Of Brora	King Of Tunes	Right Wing
1997
Kuala Lipis	Hawksley Hill	Tumbleweed Ridge
1996
Stone Ridge	Roving Minstrel	Barbaroja
1995
Roving Minstrel	Moving Arrow	Mr Martini
1994
Our Rita	Just You Dare	Wainwright
1993
High Premium	Mizaaya	Will Of Steel
1992
High Low	Mudaffar	Democratic
1991
Amenable	St Ninian	Band On The Run

1990-1988
1990
Evichstar	Vilanika	Inishpour
1989
Fact Finder	Ottergayle	Eradicate
1988
Cuvee Charlie	Silver Haze	Miss Cuddles

It is traditionally the feature event on the first Saturday of Britain's turf flat racing season. It usually takes place one or two weeks before the Grand National, and for betting purposes the two races form the Spring Double. The only jockey to have ever won both legs was Dave Dick in 1956.

History

An event called the Lincolnshire Handicap was established at Lincoln in 1849. It was run over a distance of 2 miles in August.^[1]

The venue introduced the Lincoln Spring Handicap at a new fixture in March 1853.^[2] The first two runnings were over 1½ miles, and it was shortened to a mile in 1855.^[3] The summer race ended when the meeting was temporarily discontinued in the 1850s. The spring version was renamed the Lincolnshire Handicap in 1860.^[4]

The race continued to be held at Lincoln until 1964.^[5] It was transferred to Doncaster in 1965, following the closure of its former venue. From this point it was known as the Lincoln Handicap.^[6]

The bookmaker William Hill supported the Lincoln Handicap for several years prior to 1997. The company started a new period of sponsorship in 2006 which ran until 2014, and from 2015 to 2017 the race was sponsored by the bookmakers Betway. In 2018, it was sponsored by 32Red and since 2019 Unibet have sponsored the race.

The names of the winning horses from 1926 (King of Clubs) to 1937 (Marmaduke Jinks) are used in the Waddingtons board game Totopoly.

Records

Most successful horse (2 wins):

• Ob – 1906, 1907
• Babur – 1957, 1958

Leading jockey (4 wins):

• Charlie Maidment – Indigestion (1868), Royal Rake (1870), Guy Dayrell (1872), Vestminster (1873)

Leading trainer (5 wins):

• William Haggas - High Low (1992), Very Wise (2007), Penitent (2010), Addeybb (2018), Godwinson (2025)

Winners since 1961

• Weights given in stones and pounds.

Year	Winner	Age	Weight	Jockey	Trainer	SP	Time
1961	Johns Court	6	7-07	Brian Lee	Eric Cousins	1025 25/1	1:38.80
1962	Hill Royal	4	7-09	Joe Sime	Eric Cousins	1050 50/1	1:43.80
1963	Monawin	8	7-09	Joe Sime	R Mason	1025 25/1	1:43.60
1964	Mighty Gurkha	5	7-08	Peter Robinson	Ted Lambton	1033 33/1	1:45.60
1965	Old Tom	6	8-07	Scobie Breasley	Peter Easterby	1022 22/1	1:47.00
1966	Riot Act	4	8-03	Scobie Breasley	F Armstrong	1008 8/1 F	1:41.20
1967	Ben Novus	5	7-10	P Robinson	W Hide	1022 22/1	1:38.80
1968	Frankincense	4	9-05	Greville Starkey	John Oxley	1012.5 100/8	1:42.80
1969	Foggy Bell	4	7-11	Sandy Barclay	Denys Smith	1020 20/1	1:42.20
1970	New Chapter	4	8-01	Sandy Barclay	F Armstrong	1011.1111111111 100/9	1:42.40
1971	Double Cream	4	8-09	Edward Hide	Bill Elsey	1030 30/1	1:39.80
1972	Sovereign Bill	6	8-12	Edward Hide	Peter Robinson	1004.5 9/2 F	1:41.10
1973	Bronze Hill	4	7-09	Mark Birch	Peter Easterby	1050 50/1	1:39.70
1974	Quizair	6	7-13	Taffy Thomas	Ryan Jarvis	1028 28/1	1:43.27
1975	Southwark Star	4	7-03	Richard Fox	G Peter-Hoblyn	1033 33/1	1:47.39
1976	The Hertford	5	8-06	Geoff Lewis	Brian Swift	1020 20/1	1:42.50
1977	Blustery	5	7-11	D McKay	R Smyly	1020 20/1	1:45.53
1978	Captain's Wings	5	7-10	M Wigham	Ron Boss	1006.5 13/2 F	1:38.59
1979	Fair Season	5	8-10	Greville Starkey	Ian Balding	1008 8/1	1:43.57
1980	King's Ride	4	8-12	Geoff Baxter	Bill Wightman	1010 10/1	1:44.40
1981	Saher	5	8-12	Ray Cochrane	Ron Sheather	1014 14/1	1:45.23
1982	King's Glory	4	8-03	Bryn Crossley	Philip Mitchell	1011 11/1	1:40.31
1983	Mighty Fly	4	8-04	Steve Cauthen	David Elsworth	1014 14/1	1:42.75
1984	Saving Mercy	4	8-09	Walter Swinburn	Dermot Weld	1014 14/1	1:47.93
1985	Cataldi	4	9-10	Greville Starkey	Guy Harwood	1010 10/1	1:47.65
1986	K-Battery	5	8-04	John Lowe	Bill Elsey	1025 25/1	1:44.64
1987	Star of a Gunner	7	8-08	John Reid	Richard Holder	1009 9/1	1:45.04
1988	Cuvee Charlie	4	8-01	Mark Rimmer	Hugh Collingridge	1033 33/1	1:46.00
1989	Fact Finder	5	7-09	Tyrone Williams	Reg Akehurst	1020 20/1	1:37.48
1990	Evichstar	6	7-12	Alan Munro	Jimmy FitzGerald	1033 33/1	1:38.90
1991	Amenable	6	8-01	Alex Greaves	David Barron	1022 22/1	1:42.75
1992	High Low	4	8-00	Jimmy Quinn	William Haggas	1016 16/1	1:42.74
1993	High Premium	5	8-08	Kieren Fallon	Lynda Ramsden	1016 16/1	1:37.90
1994	Our Rita	5	8-05	Darryll Holland	Dr Jon Scargill	1016 16/1	1:37.97
1995	Roving Minstrel	4	8-03	Kevin Darley	Bryan McMahon	1033 33/1	1:40.11
1996	Stone Ridge	4	8-07	Dane O'Neill	Richard Hannon Sr.	1033 33/1	1:44.67
1997	Kuala Lipis	4	8-06	Richard Quinn	Paul Cole	1011 11/1	1:39.02
1998	Hunters of Brora	8	9-00	Jason Weaver	James Bethell	1016 16/1	1:41.60
1999	Right Wing	5	9-05	Richard Quinn	John Dunlop	1004.5 9/2 F	1:41.60
2000	John Ferneley	5	8-10	Jimmy Fortune	Paul Cole	1007 7/1 JF	1:41.12
2001	Nimello	5	8-09	Jimmy Fortune	Paul Cole	1004.5 9/2 F	1:46.68
2002	Zucchero	6	8-13	Simon Whitworth	David Arbuthnot	1033 33/1	1:45.44
2003	Pablo	4	8-11	Michael Hills	Barry Hills	1005 5/1	1:39.18
2004	Babodana	4	9-10	Philip Robinson	Mark Tompkins	1020 20/1	1:40.15
2005	Stream of Gold	4	9-00	Robert Winston	Sir Michael Stoute	1005 5/1 F	1:38.18
2006	Blythe Knight [a]	6	8-10	Graham Gibbons	John Quinn	1022 22/1	1:44.33
2007	Very Wise [a]	5	8-11	Joe Fanning	William Haggas	1009 9/1	1:46.18
2008	Smokey Oakey	4	8-09	Jimmy Quinn	Mark Tompkins	1010 10/1	1:42.38
2009	Expresso Star	4	8-12	Jimmy Fortune	John Gosden	1003.3333333333 10/3 F	1:36.51
2010	Penitent	4	9-02	Johnny Murtagh	William Haggas	1003 3/1 F	1:43.31
2011	Sweet Lightning	6	9-04	Johnny Murtagh	Michael Dods	1016 16/1	1:38.38
2012	Brae Hill	6	9-01	Tony Hamilton	Richard Fahey	1025 25/1	1:37.36
2013	Levitate	5	8-04	Darren Egan	John Quinn	1020 20/1	1:41.91
2014	Ocean Tempest	5	9-03	Adam Kirby	John Ryan	1020 20/1	1:40.17
2015	Gabrial	6	9-00	Tony Hamilton	Richard Fahey	1012 12/1	1:39.62
2016	Secret Brief	4	9-04	William Buick	Charlie Appleby	1012 12/1	1:46.25
2017	Bravery	4	9-01	Daniel Tudhope	David O'Meara	1020 20/1	1:38.38
2018	Addeybb	4	9-02	James Doyle	William Haggas	1005 5/1	1:43.56
2019	Auxerre	4	9-02	James Doyle	Charlie Appleby	1002.5 5/2 F	1:36.82
	no race 2020 [b]
2021	Haqeeqy	4	8-12	Benoit de la Sayette	John and Thady Gosden	1004.5 9/2	1:38.26
2022	Johan	5	9-04	Silvestre de Sousa	Mick Channon	1028 28/1	1:37.34
2023	Migration	7	9-09	Benoit de la Sayette	David Menuisier	1018 18/1	1:47.86
2024	Mr Professor	5	8-08	David Egan	Dominic Ffrench Davis	1033 33/1	1:44.00
2025	Godwinson	5	9-04	Cieren Fallon	William Haggas	1007.5 15/2	1:40.09

1. The race was run at Redcar in 2006 and Newcastle in 2007, both due to the temporary closure of Doncaster Racecourse as part of its redevelopment.^[7]
2. The 2020 running was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom^[8]

Earlier winners

• 1853: Caurire
• 1854: Georgey
• 1855: Saucebox
• 1856: Flageolet
• 1857: Huntingdon
• 1858: Vandermulin
• 1859: Bel Esperanza
• 1860: Vigo
• 1861: Benbow
• 1862: Suburban
• 1863: Manrico
• 1864: Benjamin
• 1865: Gaily
• 1866: Treasure Trove
• 1867: Vandervelde
• 1868: Indigestion
• 1869: Sycee
• 1870: Royal Rake
• 1871: Vulcan
• 1872: Guy Dayrell
• 1873: Vestminster
• 1874: Tomahawk
• 1875: The Gunner
• 1876: Controversy
• 1877: Footstep
• 1878: Kaleidoscope
• 1879: Touchet
• 1880: Rosy Cross
• 1881: Buchanan
• 1882: Poulet
• 1883: Knight of Burghley
• 1884: Tonans
• 1885: Bendigo
• 1886: Fulmen
• 1887: Oberon
• 1888: Veracity
• 1889: Wise Man
• 1890: The Rejected
• 1891: Lord George
• 1892: Clarence
• 1893: Wolf's Crag
• 1894: Le Nicham
• 1895: Euclid
• 1896: Clorane
• 1897: Winkfield's Pride
• 1898: Prince Barcaldine
• 1899: General Peace
• 1900: Sir Geoffrey
• 1901: Little Eva
• 1902: St Maclou
• 1903: Over Norton
• 1904: Uninsured
• 1905: Sansovino
• 1906: Ob
• 1907: Ob
• 1908: Kaffir Chief
• 1909: Duke of Sparta
• 1910: Cinderello
• 1911: Mercutio
• 1912: Long Set
• 1913: Berrilldon
• 1914: Outram
• 1915: View Law
• 1916: Clap Gate *
• 1917–18: no race
• 1919: Royal Bucks
• 1920: Furious
• 1921: Soranus
• 1922: Granely
• 1923: White Bud
• 1924: Sir Gallahad
• 1925: Tapin
• 1926: King of Clubs
• 1927: Priory Park
• 1928: Dark Warrior
• 1929: Elton
• 1930: Leonidas
• 1931: Knight Error
• 1932: Jerome Fandor
• 1933: Dorigen
• 1934: Play On
• 1935: Flamenco
• 1936: Over Coat
• 1937: Marmaduke Jinks
• 1938: Phakos
• 1939: Squadron Castle
• 1940: Quartier-Maitre
• 1941: Gloaming
• 1942: Cuerdley **
• 1943: Lady Electra **
• 1944: Backbite **
• 1945: Double Harness**
• 1946: Langton Abbot
• 1947: Jockey Treble
• 1948: Commissar
• 1949: Fair Judgement
• 1950: Dramatic
• 1951: Barnes Park
• 1952: Phariza
• 1953: Sailing Light
• 1954: Nahar
• 1955: Military Court
• 1956: Three Star
• 1957: Babur
• 1958: Babur
• 1959: Marshal Pil
• 1960: Mustavon

* The 1916 running took place at Lingfield Park.
** The 1942 run as "Northern Lincoln", 1943, 1944 and 1945 (run as "Substitute Lincoln") editions were held at Pontefract.

Broadcasters

Network TV

• BBC Television televised the race from 1959 to 1964 inclusive.
• ITV televised from 1965-1985 and 2017–present
• Channel 4 televised from 1986-2016

Pay TV

• The Racing Channel 1995-2002
• Racing UK showed it in 2005-2006
• At The Races/Sky Sports Racing 2003-2004 and 2007–present

See also

• Horse racing in Great Britain
• List of British flat horse races
• Recurring sporting events established in 1853 – this race is included under its original title, Lincoln Spring Handicap.