Hopes to take a donkey round the pier, perhaps (7)
I believe the answer is:
aspires
'hopes' is the definition.
(to aspire to something is to hope for it)
'a donkey round the pier perhaps' is the wordplay.
'a donkey' becomes 'ass' (ass is a term for a donkey).
'round' is an insertion indicator.
'perhaps' indicates an anagram.
'pier' anagrammed gives 'pire'.
'ass' enclosing 'pire' is 'ASPIRES'.
'to take' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for aspires that I've seen before include "Has ambition to" , "aims high" , "Hopes" , "dreams" , "Aims to rise" .)