THE eyes of the Flat racing world will be trained on Doncaster this afternoon as the track hosts the William Hill Lincoln, the first feature race of the campaign.

If last year is anything to go by, it will not be the only time the north commands centre stage during the Flat season.

From champion jockey Paul Hanagan to trainer Mark Johnston, with his annual roll call of more than 200 winners, northern racing continues to punch above its weight.

In the world of National Hunt, the gulf between north and south remains as wide as ever.

When it comes to the Flat, though, the regional differential is considerably less stark.

"There's still a bit of a divide between north and south, but it's nowhere near as big as it is over the jumps," said Michael Dods, who has become one of the north's leading training lights from his base at Denton, near Piercebridge.

"When you're talking about the likes of Richard Fahey and Mark Johnston, you're talking about trainers able to hold their own against anyone in the country.

"There are some really successful trainers in the north, and some big owners supplying them with nice horses.

"It also helps that we've got York and Doncaster, two of the showpiece courses in the country.

"There are ongoing issues over prize money, and there are certain tracks that aren't pulling their weight in that respect.

"On the whole though, I think northern racing can be reasonably pleased with where it's at."

Hanagan's emergence at the top of the tree certainly helps, and having been rivals for the majority of the season, the north's leading trainers pulled together last autumn to help the Malton-based rider see off Richard Hughes to claim his maiden jockeys' title.

Dods employed Hanagan to steer Osteopathic Remedy to victory at Ripon and guide Kiwi Bay to a popular success in Redcar's Straight Mile Championship final, and has no hesitation in pointing to the jockey as northern racing's biggest star.

"Paul's a fantastic jockey and it's great to have the champion jockey based in the north," he said.

"He's a wonderful professional, and what he did last season, mainly in association with Richard Fahey, was fantastic.

"He rode a couple of winners for me, and I'm not sure that either horse would have won had he not been on board.

"You just know he's going to give your horse a great ride, and in a tightly-run race that can make all the difference."

Dods is hoping to be able to call on Hanagan's services at some stage this season, although the majority of his rides will go to Tom Eaves, who has been riding out for him over the winter, and Freddie Tylicki.

The handler finished last season with 32 turf winners, and is hoping at least to match that tally this year, despite one of his leading owners, haulier Andrew Tinkler, moving a number of his horses to stables in the south.

However, with prize money levels shrinking, Dods will be targeting the bigger races more carefully at the expense of some less lucrative wins.

"It's tough and it's getting tougher," he said. "It's got to the point where the sport is shooting itself in the foot, and if I was an owner, I'd be seriously questioning whether it was worth me having horses running in England.

"I could be sending horses to Wolverhampton, and the winner of the race only gets £1,100. Finish third and you get £200 - that doesn't even cover the jockey fee and the haulage.

"Even at some of the slightly better races, you can be winning £2,000, but going up nine or ten pounds in the handicap, which means you're unlikely to win again over the course of the season.

"The only way to combat that is to be more clever about where you're placing your horses.

"That's always been a big part of the trainer's art, but in the current climate, it's a more important skill than ever."

Dods has spent the winter flitting between his home and Dubai, where four of his biggest stable stars - Sweet Lightning, Barney McGrew, Rain Delayed and Tiger Reigns - have been running.

The former is entered in today's Lincoln, along with the redoubtable Kiwi Bay, and Dods is hoping the pair will hit the ground running.

"You're never really sure how they're going to start the season, but I'd be hopeful of them both running a decent race," he said.

"Sweet Lightning has been running well in Dubai, although ideally he would probably have wanted a little bit longer between his races. Kiwi Bay is always a fairly reliable performer, although like a number of our horses, he's risen to a fairly high mark in the handicap."