Ripon Placepot tips: Robbie Wilders targets the £100,000 guaranteed pool

The Tote are guaranteeing a £100,000 pool for Placepot players at Ripon and I fancy Geologist to get punters through the first leg (6.15).

She finished midfield in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot last time and drops back to novice company, while forecast rain should suit based on her breeding.

Kathab is impossible to oppose in the following maiden (6.50) for William Haggas. Sent off the 6-4 favourite to beat St James's Palace sixth Mostabshir two starts back at York, Kathab should defeat these with minimal fuss.

Cosmos Raj is another I'm banking on in the mile handicap (7.20). The David O'Meara-trained five-year-old has recorded two of his five victories at Ripon and has slipped to a good mark, with a 1lb drop for his back-to-form second here last time looking generous.

The feature (7.55) is all about Merry Minister for the in-form Ed Walker. This handicap debutant has shown ample promise in three novice runs and can cash in on a handy weight-for-age allowance.

I'll give another chance to Churchella up in trip for the 1m4f handicap (8.30). Her last-of-nine finish at Ayr last time was too bad to be true, and her previous second to subsequent easy winner Gallimimus reads well. I'll also throw in the lightly raced Alex The Great, who shaped better than the result suggests at Lingfield recently.

The front-runner Glendown has been drawn perfectly in stall eight by the stands' side rail, so is selected in a finale (9.00) lacking other likely pace sources. Next door in stall seven is Fortuitous Star, who can improve for her June comeback.

Ripon Placepot perm

6.15
5 Geologist

6.50
1 Kathab

7.20
3 Cosmos Raj

7.55
8 Merry Minister

8.30
2 Churchella
3 Alex The Great

9.00
1 Glendown
4 Fortuitous Star

1x1x1x1x2x2 = 4 lines

Sign up to the Tote here. Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators that our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing.