NOWADAYS it generally takes a potential Group class performer to win the Lincoln, which is all the more reason for siding with Alkaadhem (2.45) in the £100,000 Doncaster showpiece.

It is an inescapable fact that Arab-owned horses call many of the shots in British racing and Hamdan Al Maktoum's four-year-old is yet another example of an impeccably-bred raider set to poach the first big handicap of the season.

A colt sired by Green Desert out of a Sadler's Wells mare, so pure are his bloodlines he wouldn't be out of place lining up as favourite for a Classic race.

Such dizzy heights eluded the late-maturing Alkaadhem, who didn't even see a racecourse until making a winning debut in an egg-and-spoon one-mile maiden at Warwick last July.

Few eyebrows were raised at the time, although trainer Marcus Tregoning must have realised he had a decent tool on his hands when the selection chased home a 111-rated Godolphin horse, Meshaheer, at Newbury next time out.

The acid test came on the third and final outing of his 2003 campaign, when Tregoning shrewdly switched his charge back to a very sharp seven furlongs at Goodwood to see exactly how many gears Alkaadhem possessed.

Thankfully for connections, the result was truly electric, as Alkaadhem simply hammered his rivals with a dazzling turn of foot inside the final furlong. Only a fool would write off Willie Supple's mount, who has attracted some hefty ante-post wagers in the lead up to the race.

As far as dangers go, expect a massive effort from Howard Johnson's Chivalry, twice a winner over hurdles this winter but better known for landing a monster gamble to collect last season's Cambridgeshire when in the care of Sir Mark Prescott. Leading North-East owner, Graham Wylie, shelled out 170,000 guineas for Chivalry, by no means a forlorn hope.

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