Connections of Linebacker are buzzing not solely due to Zac Lloyd’s blistering run, but for enlisting the jockey in their quest for Doncaster Mile vindication at Randwick.

Lloyd boasts seven Saturday winners lately, capped by the $5 million Golden Slipper conquest on Guest House, while maintaining his role as the horse’s pilot through the last year with complete insight.

Last year’s Doncaster saw the young jockey steer Linebacker from a poor start to a dashing finish, securing a gallant eighth spot just over a length shy.

Tom Charlton, the trainer, emphasised Lloyd’s profound understanding of the four-year-old as a boon for Saturday, even as favourite Sheza Alibi with 49kg sets the standard.

“He knows him well, and he got him to jump out of the gates well the other day, which is something that has let him down a bit, that horse,” Charlton said.

“When he missed the break in the Doncaster last year, I daresay it cost him the race.

If we can execute well, he will run well. It’s just whether the 49 kilo filly might have a bit more, but we can’t worry about that.”

Differing from last year’s Randwick Guineas lead-in, Linebacker pursues weight-for-age races this time.

Just 1-1/2 lengths adrift of Joliestar in the Canterbury Stakes (1300m) first-up, midfield versus Autumn Glow in the George Ryder Stakes (1500m), he sheds six kilos for the big race.

Trainer Charlton expressed mild disappointment with the latest effort but noted Linebacker’s habit of even second-up runs, like before his Guineas win post-Hobartville last fall.

“He just felt the pinch the other day in a tough-run 1500,” Charlton said.

“He had a good blow, and he can do that second-up. He will run well third-up, and he gets a significant, six-kilo drop in weight.

I don’t think he will be far away.”

Drawn nine of 16, the horse sat at $17 Wednesday, behind Randwick Guineas duo Sheza Alibi ($2.10) and Autumn Boy ($7) as the market’s only sub-$10 hopes.

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