To make our Placepot selections – available below – we’ve used the Timeform ratings, Flags, Pace Map, Analyst Verdict and form archives – all of which you can access with Timeform Race Passes. Not a subscriber? Try it out with our Free Daily Race Pass, which is the feature race of the day, the Grand Sefton Handicap Chase, due off at 14:11.

New to the Placepot?

For those unfamiliar with the Tote’s raceday ritual, the Placepot simply requires you to pick one horse to finish placed in each of the first six races of a given meeting. You can also add alternative horses to some or all of the races, or ‘legs’, to create more lines and boost your chances of winning. Until recently, the cost of each combination, or ‘line’ was set at £1, but Tote now allow online bettors to place just 10p on each line, as long as you meet the minimum total stake of 50p with your ‘perm’, or combination of lines.

If you’re successful, you’ll win an equal share of an overall pot (proportionate to your stake) made up of the stakes from all entries – no matter which placed horses made up your winning line(s), or what price they were. However, because of the way the Tote works, the fewer people who select your horses, the better your potential return.

Our Selections:

Leg 1: 12:26 – Boylesports EBF ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle (Qualifier)

Without a huge amount to go on it seems wise to split liability in the first leg. Our first selection is SPORTING ACE, a ‘Horse In Focus’ who caught our reporter’s eye when jumping superbly last time out to win on his hurdling debut. Whilst not all his opponents have had chance to earn a hurdles rating, the fact his is marked with a large ‘P’ signals that he is thought capable of running to a significantly higher level by our reporters.

SNOWY EVENING isn’t likely to attract a huge amount of attention amongst some more experienced horses, some winners and some debutants from winning yards. However, he showed promise when runner-up in his sole start under rules last season, a bumper from which the winner and the fourth won their next starts, and a previous second in an Irish point shows he may find improvement back over obstacles. He fetched a six-figure price as a four-year-old and is clearly thought capable by a yard who’ve sent out three winners from seven in the last week.

Leg 2: 13:01 – Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle (Qualifier)

The extremely likeable JOHNSON’S BLUE will have to run to a mark a full 33lb higher than when winning off just 87 at Hexham in March, having since run up a remarkable sequence of one second and four further wins. The most recent of those was in July when completing the four-timer with plenty to spare, and whilst he’s been hit with a 10lb rise, he looks to have been given time to prepare for more lucrative targets and could improve further for the longest trip he’s faced so far.

The Placepot is often a case of consistency over sheer ability, and with a dead-eight scenario he may only have to run to form to find the places among a more exposed field, all returning from breaks at least three months longer away from the track than his.

We’ve no ratings to go on here given all five are making their chasing debut, but the outsider of the field on the early show, HOMETOWN HERO may have been overlooked with his hurdles form not quite up to what some of these have managed and a poor showing to finish up last season. That said, it’s possible to discount his performance in that race on the grounds none of his stable’s three runners were at anything like their best, so it may have done him a favour as far as this Saturday’s weights are concerned.

Before that he’d been progressive, catching the eye on three consecutive occasions over hurdles before coming good on his fourth start, beating a horse that looks a bright prospect into second. He has plenty of substance and is likely to make at least as good a chaser, and whilst his tendency to hang left is a negative, it’s reasonable to think that’s less of an issue on this course than some. For a final plus point: a look at the Timeform Statistics Hub shows Dan Skelton has arguably the best record of any trainer in chases at Aintree over the past five years, leading the pack on Timeform’s run-to-form metric if we include any yard who’ve had ten or more runners.

Leg 4: 14:11 – Boylesports Best Odds Guaranteed On Racing Grand Sefton Handicap Chase

At the time of writing, AL DANCER is only sixth in the betting – a position that makes him impossible to oppose given he has at least 3lb to spare on this field on his best form. It seems all the more remarkable given the form his up-and-coming yard has been in of late, but takes into account a patchy record, including with his jumping which probably looks the biggest threat to his prospect of a win over the National fences. On the plus side he was back in form returned to fences in spring, and having been put up just 1lb for a narrow loss on his previous outing when shaping as if he’d benefit from further, we’ll hope Sam Thomas has him spot on for his first trip over these unique obstacles, Charlie Deutsch a very reliable partner.

Our second play in the race comes in the shape of SPIRITOFTHEGAMES, another chaser representing the Skelton team, and flags as a ‘Horse for Course’. He’s run respectably on previous visits to the Merseyside track, most recently when finishing fifth in the Topham earlier this year. He’s a consistent type and should be firmly in the mix again this time around, with just 3lb to find on our weight-adjusted ratings, and the ‘very strong pace’ anticipated should give him a lovely pace to aim at under a likely patient ride from Harry Skelton.

On to leg five then, and we’ve got a four-runner hurdle to tackle, so finding the winner here is a must to keep the balling rolling in this week’s Placepot. The one who we’re going to side with is the top-rated BREWIN’UPASTORM. This looks a tricky contest, but we’re hopeful that Olly Murphy’s charge can make it back-to-back victories in this race. He sits 4lb clear of his rivals coming into it, and has a great record when fresh, winning on his reapperance for the past three seasons, so hopefully he can enhance that impressive record here.

Time for the final round, and we’re going to side with Chris Gordon’s ONLY MONEY. He also sits top on our ratings, and this progressive chaser can make it three wins on the spin following a couple of wide-margin successes over the past couple of months, for a yard who have been going great guns as of late. He’s chanced to defy an 8lb rise and make it five from nine in this sphere.