Aintree Placepot tips: Paul Kealy's perm for the £500k guaranteed pool on Friday at the Grand National festival

Gerri Colombe is very much the one to beat in Aintree's day two opening Mildmay Novices' Chase (1.45), but it's dangerous banking on a horse for the Placepot after a very hard race at Cheltenham, so I'm adding the fresh Complete Unknown, who got his act together with a runaway win in handicap company at Kempton last month.

This will be a decent-sized perm to small stakes as it's seriously hard. My four in the handicap hurdle (2.20) would be well-handicapped mares Martello Sky and Molly Ollys Wishes, plus less exposed pair Dargiannini and Playful Saint, with the angle being to avoid horses who ran too well, or at all, at Cheltenham.

The Top Novices' Hurdle (2.55) has the usual mix of those who ran at Cheltenham and those who didn't, and it's far from easy. My two would be the unbeaten Altobelli, who was the best part of a furlong clear two out last time and could be anything, and No Looking Back, who was still learning on the job last time and shapes as though a well-run race will suit.

Fakir D'Oudairies is going for three in a row in the Marsh Chase (3.30), but hasn't been in top form this season, so for that reason I reckon Paul Nicholls will win it with either the hugely improved Pic D'Orhy or the frustrating but very talented Hitman, who likes it here and was second last year.

I had a shortlist of around ten for the Topham (4.05) and still wouldn't be massively confident, but the selections are Demachine, Geskille, Phoenix Way and Burrows Saint.

Albert Bartlett winner Stay Away Fay is the one to beat in the Sefton (4.40), but it's seriously competitive again and I'll add in Grey Dawning, who shapes as though he will improve with the step up in trip.

Aintree Placepot perm

1.45
2 Complete Unknown
3 Gerri Colombe

2.20
8 Dargiannini
9 Molly Ollys Wishes
10 Martello Sky
15 Playful Saint

2.55
1 Altobelli
8 No Looking Back

3.30
4 Hitman
7 Pic D'Orhy

4.05
2 Burrows Saint
14 Geskille
16 Phoenix Way
18 Demachine

4.40
3 Grey Dawning
13 Stay Away Fay

2x4x2x2x4x2 = 256 lines

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