Jamie Spencer booked to ride Donncha for first time in Lincoln

Jamie Spencer will ride Donncha for the first time in Saturday’s Betway Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster.

Andrea Atzeni has been aboard Robert Eddery’s six-year-old for nine of his 23 career starts, including his last run at Newmarket in October, but he’s all set to ride favourite Morando for Roger Varian in the curtain-raiser for the British Flat turf season this weekend.

That means Eddery has turned to Spencer, a jockey with a good record at Doncaster (25 wins from 135 rides — a 19% strike rate — for the last five years) but one that has yet to win the Lincoln, in part because he’s often been riding in Dubai when the meetings used to clash.