Newmarket Placepot: Thursday September 27

Paul Hanagan will be aboard three of today's Placepot selections.
A foiled Placepot attempt at Goodwood yesterday has not dented Matt Gardner's confidence, as he heads to Newmarket in hope of recompense...
14:00 - There are some intriguing newcomers on show here, not least the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Excellent Result who hails from the family of Golan and Tartan Bearer, but for Placepot purposes it's probably best to stick with a pair who have previous experience. Cast your mind back to the eighth day of this month and, at around 13:30, Telescope and Elkaayed both made their racecourse debuts at Ascot, finishing second and fourth respectively. The former's inexperience arguably cost him victory, running green but keeping on well and just being denied, and he seems sure to progress. Conversely Elkaayed appeared to know his job but shaped well nonetheless, sticking to his task having led, and he is another who ought to improve.
14:35 - The second leg was difficult enough prior to the customary non-runner in a 16-runner field, leaving us with just the three places to aim at; if we get lucky our three selections will fill the places, but we'd gladly take a safe passage and move swiftly on. The first one to side with is Red Avenger, who cost 175,000 gns earlier this year and showed much improved form on his second start, when winning at Warwick. He has subsequently backed that effort up, shaping better than the bare result at Doncaster, and this step up in trip will suit. Authorship overcame obvious greenness to make a winning debut and has been burdened with the large Timeform 'P', suggesting above-average improvement may be forthcoming, and he goes in alongside Arlecchino, who appeals as the type to progress now switched to nurseries with a tongue tie applied for the first time.
15:10 - We'll stick with the three-year-olds in this listed event, hopeful that Gallipot and Sequence can do the business. The former has improved with each and every run this year, finishing an excellent fourth in the Park Hill at Doncaster on her most recent start, and she would hold realistic claims to winning this race rather than simply making the places. Sequence, who is a half-sister to Sinndar, is another to have progressed well this term, with wins at Thirsk and on the July course at Newmarket, and she may have more yet to offer.
15:40 - I was tempted to stick Ebn Arab in here in hope of getting the favourite nobbled but, even if Ebn Arab were to win, it's hard to see Havana Gold not finishing second so there is little point in taking on the jolly. The selection is unlucky not to be undefeated, a slipping saddle costing him almost certain victory by unseating his rider at Deauville on his penultimate start, and he is most likely to be in the firing line here.
16:15 - I've been banging the Lordofthehouse drum for some time now, ever since he got off the mark at Haydock last year to be precise, and he has improved rapidly since then. His habitual slow start cost him at York when last seen, forced to circle the field to gain a prominent position before weakening into fifth in the closing stages, but he could well have improved again in the meantime and he has long suggested that this sort of test would suit him ideally. Were he to let us down we can take solace in the fact that Cavalryman, who was not disgraced when fourth in the Lonsdale Cup last month, is most likely to give his running and can send us into the final leg.
16:50 - Basseterre and Norse Blues are the pair to select here, the former a lightly-raced three-year-old who was on an upward curve earlier in the year. He was well backed on his return from a 12-week break at Sandown earlier this month but shaped as if in need of the run, making good headway but having no extra in the closing stages, and he is certainly worth having on side here. Norse Blues has been running pretty consistently since his win in the Spring Mile back in at the end of March, putting up several creditable efforts, and he is taken to go well once more.
Selections:
14:00 - 2, 9
14:35 - 2, 4, 6
15:10 - 12, 15
15:40 - 5
16:15 - 1, 7
16:50 - 4, 11
= 48 lines