The spring double: our top tipsters provide their best bets for an each-way wager in the Lincoln and Grand National

It has been many a punter's dream to land the Spring Double, starting with the William Hill Lincoln on Saturday and moving on to next weekend's Randox Grand National. Here a selection of our tipsters provide their fancies for the two big betting races . . .

Richard Birch

Thunder Run (Lincoln)

Thunder Run looks like a Group horse in a handicap and has everything it takes to win a Lincoln. A four-year-old with a high cruising speed, he seems tactically versatile and can sit just off the pace and produce a turn of foot or go from the front. That’s a major asset in races as competitive as this and he won’t mind what the ground is like. He's won three of his six races and it'll be a big surprise if he isn’t rated higher than his mark of 100 by summer and he can kick off his campaign by clinching the Doncaster showpiece.

Iroko (Grand National)

It takes a very high-class horse to win a Grand National nowadays and Iroko has long appealed as the ideal type for Aintree. Still unexposed over fences, this seven-year-old has been cannily campaigned this season to protect his mark for the world’s most famous steeplechase. I fancied him before the season started, and his Kelso warm-up this month when second to Grey Dawning maximised my confidence in his chance. He promises to relish the big step up in trip.

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Keith Melrose

Godwinson (Lincoln)

Plenty has dropped right for this lightly-raced five-year-old. He has a fine record fresh, having been second in the Spring Cup on reappearance last year and won at Goodwood in August after ten weeks off. He is also drawn right beside a pace angle in Orne, so hopefully he won't be on the wrong side like he was in the Cambridgeshire.

Stumptown (Grand National)

This horse has long looked a Grand National type and his recent embrace of cross-country events, plus his demonstrable ability to win off his Aintree mark of 157 at the Cheltenham Festival, shows that he is ready to prove it. He can help Gold Cup-winning trainer Gavin Cromwell to land a significant spring double of his own.

Tom Park

Midnight Gun (Lincoln)

Midnight Gun ran some big races in defeat last season. His sire, Kingman, and dam, Sky Lantern, both won Classics over a mile and were serial Group 1 winners over that distance so it would disappointing if Midnight Gun doesn't go on to prove a lot better than his mark of 101. 

Iroko (Grand National)

This season has all been about getting him to this race in the best possible shape and, barring a fall at Ascot, he has been consistent despite not winning over trips short of his best. His second to Inothewayurthinkin in the Mildmay at this meeting last season reads well now and he is clearly well handicapped if he takes to the fences.

Graeme Rodway

Mr Professor (Lincoln)

He's only 4lb higher than when successful in the race last season and goes well fresh, so should be primed to go close again after a 161-day absence. He won last year's race in a quicker time than Charyn in the Doncaster Mile on the same card and a reproduction will give him a chance at a big price.

I Am Maximus (Grand National)

He's still well handicapped off 8lb higher than when landing last year's race and was well on top at the finish. The changing nature of the Grand National means it's more like a cross-country event than the chaotic race we once knew, and that makes it more likely than it ever has been that we will see multiple winners in future.

Robbie Wilders

Whip Cracker (Lincoln)

Richard Hughes's horses have returned in fine fettle and Whip Cracker was notably strong in the market on his comeback at Wolverhampton for a race that didn't pan out favourably. The run should have brought him forward and he is dangerously treated off an unchanged mark of 97 on the basis of his excellent second to Jayarebe in the Feilden Stakes at this time last year. A well-run mile should be ideal for the unexposed son of Cracksman.

Vanillier (Grand National)

This dour stayer who has been transformed by blinkers on both starts this year, and back on the same mark as when an excellent second to the chucked-in Corach Rambler in the 2023 National. He shaped better than the result when an eight-length third in the Cross Country given his rider squandered around 15-20 lengths earlier in the race when navigating the wrong course, having initially made the running. That was his stablemate Stumptown's big day and this can be his.

Harry Wilson

Godwinson (Lincoln)

The lightly raced Godwinson is likely to be primed for the occasion, having been well supported when finishing a close second on his reappearance last April. First time out may be the time to catch him, as he left his next two starts behind him when winning a handicap at Goodwood in August after a 72-day break. His half-brother Tiber Flow was at his best as a five-year-old for the same connections and there is likely more to come from him this year.

Iroko (Grand National)

The entire season has been about the Grand National for Iroko and he's long been my idea of the winner, as he's sure to improve for the greater emphasis on stamina. He caught my eye when finishing strongly for second behind subsequent Gold Cup winner Inothewayurthinkin in a Grade 1 at Aintree last year and has been campaigned over inadequate trips to protect his handicap mark this season. His run behind classy chaser Grey Dawning at Kelso should set him up perfectly for this and he's likely to get his ground.

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Confirmed runners and riders for the Lincoln at Doncaster on Saturday - plus the crucial draw details 

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