Akshar and Suggestive head Freephone Stanleybet Lincoln

The weights for the 2004 Freephone Stanleybet Lincoln, announced yesterday, are jointly headed on 9st 10lb by Akshar, who was bought out of Sir Michael Stoute´s stable for 170,000gns by Dermot Weld in October, and the William Haggas-trained Suggestive, who ran consistently well in Group company last year.

The #100,000 Freephone Stanleybet Lincoln takes place at Doncaster on Saturday, March 27, and Weld will be bidding to saddle the first Irish-trained winner since he sent over Saving Mercy to score in 1984. The Curragh-based handler could also run Evolving Tactics (9st 7lb), who won the Grade 2 American Derby at Arlington in Chicago in July.

Irish champion Aidan O´Brien also has three intriguing entries, Shoal Creek and Sahara Desert on 9st 2lb and High Country on 8st 7lb.

Fremen, representing Sir Michael Stoute and the Niarchos Family, was installed as one of the market leaders for the Freephone Stanleybet Lincoln when the entries were announced last week and has 8st 8lb while Hamdan Al Maktoum´s Alkaadhem, whose three runs for trainer Marcus Tregoning have yielded two wins and a second, will carry 9st 1lb. Prince Khalid Abdulla´s Desert Opal, a progressive handicapper for John Gosden last year, has 8st 10lb.

Last season´s Cambridgeshire winner Chivalry is unbeaten in two starts over hurdles for new trainer Howard Johnson, whose main patron Graham Wylie paid 170,000gns for the horse at Tattersalls last year. The five-year-old has been allotted 8st 10lb in the Freephone Stanleybet Lincoln.

Pablo, who landed a big gamble in the 2003 race off 8st 11lb, will race off 9st 6lb if lining up this year although the 2002 winner Zucchero, trained by David Arbuthnot, has 7st 9lb compared to 8st 13lb when landing his big success. Nimello, who scored in 2001 for trainer Paul Cole off a weight of 8st 9lb, looks unlikely to make the cut in this year´s race with just 7st 4lb.

Trainer Gay Kelleway hopes to have a representative in the Freephone Stanleybet Lincoln with Labrett (7st 12lb), Te Quiero (7st 9lb) or Lygeton Lad (7st 3lb).

'Lygeton Lad will definitely go if the ground is not soft as he is a brilliant horse and rated 105 on the all-weather now,' said Kelleway. 'There are not a lot of opportunities for him on the all-weather with his rating so he will go for the Winter Derby and the Lincoln Trial.

'Labrett would be a strong possibility for Doncaster and if the ground got soft, Te Quiero would definitely go. He won the Lincoln Trial last year and was in the Freephone Stanleybet Lincoln but unfortunately the ground came up firm at Doncaster so he didn´t run. He will be in good order come March. I´ve got a variety of horses which go on various grounds so I will definitely have a runner in the Lincoln.'

There are a record 141 entries in this year´s Freephone Stanleybet Lincoln, which has a safety limit of 24, and horses who fail to make the big-race line-up can go for the Freephone Stanleybet Spring Mile 24 hours earlier on Friday, March 26.

THE FREEPHONE STANLEYBET LINCOLN