Newcastle Placepot picks: Richard Birch takes aim at the £100,000 guarantee

There is a £100,000 guarantee for the Newcastle Placepot, so let’s focus on the six races there.

Leg one (5.30), a 1m2f handicap, looks tricky, but Western Beat and Trailblazer both have solid course form and could prove the pair to fight out the finish.

Double Oban, with the benefit of a Chelmsford run behind him, might show sufficient improvement to land leg two (6.00). Ironopolis, equipped with first-time cheekpieces on his first start for Rebecca Menzies, is worth a second look if strong in the market.

Victoria Falls should take all the beating in leg three (6.30), having shown improved form on her last two Wolverhampton starts.

There may be only five runners in leg four (7.00), the mile handicap for three-year-olds, but picking between them is by no means straightforward.

Camusdarach, who graduates to handicaps after wind surgery, might prove fairly treated on a mark of 72. The James Ferguson-trained dual Leicester scorer Menalippe is also of some interest.

Anif and As If By Chance are the selections for leg five (7.30), with the first-time visored Katar catching the eye in the last (8.00).