Hopes to take a donkey round the pier, perhaps (7)
I believe the answer is:
aspires
'hopes' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'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' is an anagram of 'pire'.
'ass' going around 'pire' is 'ASPIRES'.
'to take' is the link.
(Other definitions for aspires that I've seen before include "Has ambition to" , "aims high" , "Hopes" , "dreams" , "Aims to rise" .)