Wathnan Racing hoping to hit the ground running with Lincoln hope 'who has done particularly well over the winter'

Qatari team Wathnan Racing are out to make an impact as early as possible in the 2025 Flat season by fielding a fancied runner in the featured William Hill Lincoln at Doncaster on the opening day.

The progressive grey Midnight Gun, 12-1 joint-fourth favourite with the sponsors, is expected to do duty for the Newmarket-based team of Hamad Al Jehani in the traditional season curtain-raiser on March 29.

The four-year-old showed his best form with some ease in the ground last season after he joined the Wathnan team from Ed Walker, most recently when finishing second to the latter’s Harper’s Ferry over the Lincoln course and distance last October.

Retained rider James Doyle has ridden Midnight Gun in his recent work in Newmarket and the jockey is bidding for a third win in the Lincoln following Addeybb (2018) and Auxerre (2019).

Richard Brown, adviser to Wathnan Racing, said: “We have Midnight Gun and Native Warrior in the Lincoln at the moment although I don’t think the latter will get in. Midnight Gun has done particularly well over the winter during which time he’s been gelded and has strengthened up. If he can get there in one piece he would have a chance but it’s obviously competitive.”

Kind Of Blue and James Doyle return after their Ascot winCredit: Edward Whitaker

The Wathnan Racing team and Doyle are already on a roll after success in France on Sunday when Map Of Stars landed the Group 3 Prix Exbury at Saint Cloud.

Brown said: “We were delighted with Map Of Stars, who is a big baby really, and he will improve mentally more than anything from that. We’re bringing him forward nicely and we also own the second First Look, who looked to have recaptured the form of his second in the Prix du Jockey Club last year.”

Pride of place among the team's older horses for 2025 goes to the James Fanshawe-trained Kind Of Blue who got the operation on the board for the second time at Group 1 level when landing the British Champion Sprint at Ascot last October.

Brown said: “Kind Of Blue is obviously very exciting and there is no better man than James Fanshawe to bring this sort of horse along. We’re looking forward to seeing him out and he’ll probably start back in the Group 2 Duke of York Stakes at York in May.”

William Hill Lincoln (Doncaster, March 29)
Sponsor: 6 Qirat, 7 Harper's Ferry, 8 Thunder Run, 12 Orandi, Midnight Gun, James McHenry, Native Warrior, 14 bar

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