CHEER LEADER

Get Flat season off to a flyer with Spiller’s star in Lincoln

LEADER WRITER (nap) can give trainer Henry Spiller the biggest victory of his career by landing the Lincoln (3.35, ITV4) as the turf Flat season gets underway at Doncaster.

Spiller (above), who spent eight years as Saeed bin Suroor’s assistant in America before setting up on his own in 2016, had a problem to solve when the ex-french six-year-old arrived at his Newmarket yard last year.

“He came with a reputation because he repeatedly refused to enter the stalls,” explains the 32-year-old.

“But the longer we’ve had him, the better he’s been. I’m very positive about his chance.”

It’s not hard to see why. Leader Writer won a bigmoney handicap at Ascot for jockey Fran Berry in September – and his fourth at Lingfield in February was the perfect tuneup for this afternoon’s test.

Judged by the way Leader Writer finished off that race, he’ll be much more at home back over a straight mile on his first visit to Town Moor and can land the campaign’s traditional curtain-raiser.