Is there a secret formula for finding the Lincoln winner? Graeme Rodway is here with the answer

There was a time in the not too distant past when finding the winner of the Lincoln seemed easy. In three races from 2018 to 2021, all you had to do was find a lightly raced four-year-old from a top Newmarket yard that was towards the front of the market.

However, just when punters thought that they had the famous race sussed out it came back to bite them because the last three winners have been aged five, seven and five, and returned at SPs of 28-1, 18-1 and 33-1. None of them were trained in Newmarket, either.

Suddenly the clamour to back up-and-coming four-year-olds doesn’t look so wise, but the bookmakers still think it might be the best approach because this year’s Lincoln market is dominated by horses of that age in Thunder Run, Midnight Gun and Native Warrior.