Newmarket Placepot picks: Paul Kealy's perm for the £150k guaranteed pool

There aren't many runners in some of the Newmarket races, but some are still quite hard, none more so than the opening Darley Stakes (1.15), in which you could make a case for everything.

My two against the field for Placepot purposes are Liberty Lane, who won a massive draw race in the Cambridgeshire but did so easily and also won well on his other course-and-distance run this season, and Ancient Rome, back from the US and a wind operation, who has a better chance than his odds suggest for a yard that hasn't had a winner for a while but has been going close regularly (seven seconds this month).

Shackleton and Too Soon are the ones who appeal most in the next (1.50), while the Autumn Stakes (2.25) doesn't look a great race and I'm not sure Delacroix should be as short as he is. Silver Peak and Stanhope Gardens have both been learning on the job, but the penny seemed to drop for both last time and they could well be about to put up massively improved displays.

In the Dewhurst (3.00), Shadow Of Light is arguably the form horse as he bids to double up from the Middle Park, but The Lion In Winter was deeply impressive in the Acomb and that form is working out great, so I wouldn't argue against him being a short-priced favourite.

Sixandahalf and Aqwaam are the two I've backed for the Cesarewitch (3.40), but it probably needs at least one more for the perm, with the selection being Premiere Ligne. He hasn't been out of the first three this season, is 3lb well in for his Ces Trial second and now has a decent 5lb claimer on board.

I wouldn't be too confident about the final leg (4.15), which is a tricky nursery, but Huscal travels well and looks reasonably treated, while Spell Master has already run well in two decent handicaps.

ADD PAUL'S SELECTIONS TO YOUR TOTE BETSLIP IN ONE CLICK HERE

Newmarket Placepot perm

1.15
2 Ancient Rome
3 Liberty Lane

1.50
4 Shackleton
7 Too Soon

2.25
4 Silver Peak
5 Stanhope Gardens

3.00
6 The Lion In Winter

3.40
13 Aqwaam
14 Sixandahalf
20 Premiere Ligne

4.15
2 Huscal
3 Spell Master

2x2x2x1x3x2=48 lines

Sign up to the Tote here. New customers online only. Eligibility restrictions apply. Only valid with code B10G40 on registration. £10 min qualifying bet at 1/1 (2.0) odds or greater across sports or racing (if EW then min £10 Win + £10 Place). Receive £20 Tote Credit, £10 Free Sports Bet and 50 Free Spins on Big Bass Bonanza within 48 hours of qualifying bet settlement. 7-day expiry on free bets & Tote Credit. Your first bet will be your qualifying bet. One per customer. UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org. 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.