Southwell Placepot picks: Paul Kealy has a crack at the £100,000 guaranteed pot

Southwell's opener (5.30) is seriously competitive, but for Placepot purposes it is worth taking a chance on Saaheqfollowing his encouraging return under Mia Nicholls at odds of 66-1 last month. 

The nine-year-old would have picked up and carried most of these in his prime, and he's back on his last winning mark having shaped really well on his first run for seven months when a close fifth at Chelmsford.

Hit Mac has been kept very busy but usually runs his race and looks a reasonable back-up.

Two horses will dominate the betting in the next (6.00) and Banderas, a massive eyecacher on his debut in a fair Newcastle maiden in November, is just preferred to Sweet William.

You could make a case for loads in the third (6.30), but my three will be the seriously in-form Athmad, the consistent Francesi, and Kingmania, who returns on a good mark.

There's a bit more depth to the second novice on the card (7.00), so I'll go with two in the shape of form filly Mubhijah, and Spring Fever, who is going to improve this year.

In the next (7.30), William Haggas's In The Giving was a real eyecatcher on her stable debut last month and may well be a good deal better than her rivals, so she is banked on.

That just leaves another desperately difficult handicap (8.00) with any number of potential winners. The none-too-confident suggestions are Gunnerside, Giselles Izzy and Autumn Flight.

Southwell Placepot perm

5.30
2 Saaheq
8 Hit Mac

6.00
4 Banderas

6.30
1 Francesi
7 Kingmania
9 Athmad

7.00
2 Mubhijah
6 Spring Fever

7.30
3 In The Giving

8.00
2 Gunnerside
4 Giselles Izzy
5 Autumn Flight

2x1x3x2x1x3=36 lines

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