Mr Professor was too clever for the rest with a power-packed display in the William Hill Lincoln at Doncaster on Saturday.

Sent off at 33/1, the Dominic Ffrench Davis-trained five-year-old was drawn in stall two but ended up more towards the middle after David Egan – celebrating a big winner so soon after becoming number one rider for owners Amo Racing – asked his mount to quicken a furlong and a half from home.

Lattam was a length and a half back in second, with Navagio two lengths further away in third, but there was never any danger to the winner once he had flown.

Fozzy Stack’s Chazzesmee was the well-backed 5/2 favourite, chasing an unprecedented double after winning the Irish equivalent last weekend, but while he moved with some menace, he could never quite get into it, eventually just being edged out for fourth by Alpha Crucis.

But there was huge disappointment for David Menuisier, with last year’s winner Migration planting himself in the stalls as the gates opened.

Ffrench Davis said: “I think a lot of it has to do with the ground, it’s very tacky and holding and he travelled through it well.

“Two out, he was going supremely well and David didn’t really want to go on as soon as he did, but it’s very hard to make ground up in that sort of ground and he quickened up nicely and kept going.

“We knew he was very fit and would like the ground, so we were hopeful. His draw in stall two didn’t look great, but it worked out well.

“I think he seems a very happy horse now, he had been out to Bahrain before we got him but he prefers to get his toe in. He bolted up at Goodwood one day for us, his form has been solid.

“It’s great to win this, it’s the first big handicap of the year and these are the races you have to aim to win.

“For horses like him, I hope this rain continues, but we’ve plenty of horses who want better ground.

“I suppose we’d have to look at the Spring Cup next but he does have to get his toe in, so the word soft would need to be in the description. He’s obviously well handicapped, so you’d have to have a look at a race like that.

“It’s a fantastic start for David, he won the first two-year-old race at the Curragh last week and we were hoping to win the Brocklesby but that didn’t work out – thankfully, this makes up for it.”

Pulborough trainer Menuisier later announced the retirement of Migration, posting on X: “Migration is now retired, we have to think about the great times we’ve had with him especially Glorious Goodwood, Doncaster and York.

“Thank you Migration for the amazing years we’ve had in your company. Enjoy a well-deserved quiet time.”

David Egan and Amo Racing

David Egan’s new role as retained rider for Amo Racing got off to the best possible start when Mr Professor came home clear in the William Hill Lincoln at Doncaster, with the jockey hoping it signals the beginning of a fruitful partnership.

Many were surprised when Egan left the relatively secure role of riding the majority of Roger Varian’s string to take up the number one position with Kia Joorabchian’s increasingly prominent operation.

Several leading riders have already gained and lost what is now a high-profile job, but the prospect of riding the likes of King Of Steel, Ornellaia, Bucanero Fuerte and a whole host of expensive juveniles was a tempting one.

Having spent the winter riding abroad, Egan was at the Curragh on Monday to win the first juvenile race of 2023 on Arizona Blaze, and by adding the first major handicap of the season on Dominic Ffrench Davis’ five-year-old it could not have been a better start.

“It’s a fantastic start to the year. I’m not going to lie, it was a surprise to me how easy he took me into the race at the two-pole,” he said of his 33/1 winner.

“It was an outstanding performance really, I know he was getting plenty of weight from a lot of the runners, but it’s a fantastic performance.

“Doncaster has been a lucky place for me, I obviously won my first Classic here (St Leger on Eldar Eldarov), but the Lincoln is the race every winter that you build towards. I’ve obviously been away, but the Lincoln is that special race that kick-starts the year, so it’s great to win.”

The sole Irish raider for the race was Fozzy Stack’s Chazzesmee, sent off the 5-2 favourite following his easy success in the Irish version last weekend.

“What was going through my head was the Irish Lincolnshire last week, I rode Raadobarg in that and I gave Joey Sheridan a lead all the way to the furlong pole on Chazzesmee and he quickened up by me,” said Egan, who won the Saudi Cup and Juddmonte International with Mishriff when he was retained by Prince Faisal.

“I got into the stalls today and who was next to me! I looked at Joey and he just said ‘same again?’. I knew he was behind me the whole way, but when my lad quickened up, he quickened up really well – and as he has stamina, he was able to sustain that all the way to the line.”

As for taking the Amo job, Egan could well have joined at just the right time.

He went on: “It’s a very exciting year, you dream of getting a job like this and he (Joorabchian) has got such an array of horses, from older horses like King Of Steel to Classic contenders like Bucanero Fuerte.

“And Amo Racing in recent times have been renowned for two-year-olds coming through, they had a lovely one win at the Curragh last week. They are a great team to have a connection with.

“They’ve got ambition to win and be the best, we understand that will take time but they are still relatively new, the purple colours have only been seen in the last five or six years – when I started in racing, Amo Racing wasn’t even a thing.

“To see their progress and for me to land a job of this nature so soon in my career is great and I hope we have a lot of success in the future.”