Kinane booked for Protector

David Arbuthnot has booked Michael Kinane for the ride on Lord Protector in the randombet.com Lincoln on Saturday in a bid to give the jockey his first success in the Doncaster feature.

'You`ve got to try and get the best you can. He has ridden me a winner, he doesn`t ride for me very often obviously but he`s always done well for me,' said the Upper Lambourn trainer.

Lord Protector confirmed his place in the Stg£75,000-added handicap over the straight mile at Town Moor with an eye-catching fourth to Dayglow Dancer at Wolverhampton earlier this month - his first race for over six months.

'I was happy with that run,' Arbuthnot said.'He`s probably just blown up a little bit and didn`t get the run of the race either, so I was very pleased with him.

'It`s certainly brought him on. He`s done a little bit of work since but he`s now, I hope, a fit horse.'

And the four-year-old gelding was cut to 11-1 from 14-1 after attracting plenty of support with William Hill today.

Arbuthnot is not worried about the prospect of soft ground.

'He just got beat on very heavy ground at York as a two-year-old and he ran very well on pretty soft ground at Newmarket last year when he was second to Putra Pekan, so I`m not too concerned about it,' he said.

But the trainer is hoping to get the chance to pick the draw he wants when the stalls positions are made at a special ceremony on Thursday.

'I`m going to look for between 12 and 7 if I get the chance,' he added.

Coral: 7-2 Adiemus, 9-1 Faithful Warrior, 14-1 Lord Protector, Attache, The Judge, 16-1 Nose The Trade, Smirk, Atlantic Ace, Dayglow Dancer, 18-1 Thihn, Banjo Bay, 20-1 Nimello, Calcutta, 22-1 Imperial Dancer, 25-1 bar.

William Hill: 4-1 Adiemus, 10-1 Faithful Warrior, 11-1 Lord Protector (from 14), 12-1 I Cried For You, The Judge, 14-1 Atlantic Ace(from 20), Dayglow Dancer, Smirk, 16-1 Attache, Nimello, 20-1 Banjo Bay, Imperial Dancer, Nose The Trade, Thihn, 25-1 bar.

Blue Square: 3-1 Adiemus, 10-1 Faithful Warrior, I Cried For You, 12-1 The Judge, Nimello, Atlantic Ace, Lord Protector, 14-1 Thihn, Smirk, Dayglow Dancer, 16-1 Banjo Bay, Attache, 20-1 J R Stevenson, Imperial Dancer, Duke of Modena, Nose The Trade, Welsh Wind, True Night, Norton, 25-1 bar.