Ascot Placepot picks: Paul Kealy's perm for the £250,000 pool on King George day

Ascot's opening maiden (1.15) has a competitive look with none of those who have run setting a particularly high standard.

The Hannon yard has won this seven times in the last ten years and had the runner-up last year, so the unraced Timebar is first on the list for the Placepot.

Appellant, who was the only one without experience at Ayr last time and did well to finish second considering how long it took for the penny to drop, is the other suggestion.

I'll play it safe in the next (1.50) with Symbology and Pretty Crystal, who look the most likely winners, while in the third (2.25) Random Harvest's excellent Ascot form makes her the one to beat, with Irish raider Cadeau Belle expected to be a big threat.

There are doubts over how soft the ground will be given the conflicting forecasts, but I will stick with high-drawn runners in the big-field handicap (3.00) and it will be disappointing if one of Baradar, Ramazan and Ropey Guest doesn't make the frame.

The King George (3.40) is surprisingly difficult, but Hukum loves Ascot and will have conditions to his liking (it won't be fast whatever happens), while Westover has a better chance than his odds imply.

Ancient Wisdom has the best form in the last (4.15), but he has run twice and there are plenty who are open to tons of improvement.

Richard Hannon was very complimentary about Rosallion after he won on his debut at Newbury last month (runner-up was 40-1 but won next time), while the Group 1-entered Sunway was impressive on his Sandown debut for David Menuisier, so they will do for me in a bid to get the jolly turned over.

Ascot Placepot perm

1.15
2 Appellant
10 Timebar

1.50
8 Pretty Crystal
11 Symbology

2.25
2 Random Harvest
5 Cadeau Belle

3.00
14 Baradar
16 Ropey Guest
22 Ramazan

3.40
4 Hukum
8 Westover

4.15
9 Rosallion
10 Sunway

2x2x2x3x2x2 = 96 lines

World Pool tip: Luxembourg and King Of Steel could offer some value

The Tote World Pool will be in operation for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes (3.40) at Ascot and there may be a bit of value in opposing some of the bigger names.

International stars like Ryan Moore and Frankie Dettori attract plenty of attention from those betting into the pools worldwide and that means others are often overlooked. For example, Age Of Kings was the biggest overpay on the World Pool at Royal Ascot in comparison to starting price and that is probably because he was a stable second string in the Jersey Stakes.

Wayne Lordan booted him home to return a Tote dividend of £34.70, when his SP was just 22-1, and a similar strategy here may work as I can’t see many international punters being enthusiastic about Seamie Heffernan’s mount Luxembourg, who is deserted by Ryan Moore.

Put Luxembourg in a Swinger with the Kevin Stott-ridden King Of Steel. Stott is another name who has yet to announce himself on the international stage and there is every chance his mount might get underestimated, despite coming into the race with strong form claims.

Tote Swinger

5 Luxembourg
11 King Of Steel

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