Templegate’s Tote Placepot tips for Royal Ascot day one with £250,000 guaranteed, PLUS £30 in free bets

ROYAL ASCOT is here! So our man Templegate returns to tackle a tricky placepot for the big opening day!

The Placepot is a bet where you select a horse to be placed in the FIRST SIX races of any meeting.

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You can pick more than one horse in a race – you just multiply the number of selections in each race to calculate your stake. So for staking it’s 2x1x2x1x2x2 which adds up to 16 lines. 

You can stake what you want upwards from 5p a line. 10p a line is £1.60 with our picks and so on.

Provided at least one in each race is placed, we get a payout!

Read on for our man’s selections – and make use of Tote’s welcome offer where you can bag £30 in free bets HERE!*

Royal Ascot Placepot tips for Tuesday

LEG 1: Charyn, Big Rock

CHARYN took his form to a new level when second to runaway winner Audience in the Lockinge and can land a deserved Group 1 success for Roger Varian. He has progressed beautifully this season, kicking off with an impressive soft-ground Listed win at Doncaster before stepping up to take the Group 2 Sandown Mile in April. He proved that he doesn’t need it testing when running out clear second-best in a Lockinge that was expertly pinched from the front by Rab Havlin on Audience. 

BIG ROCK was breathtaking when winning the QEII Stakes here by six lengths on soft in October and may have been short of a run when sixth in the Lockinge on comeback. He was second in the French Derby and has lots of class. Experienced Christophe Soumillon takes over in the saddle today and that could prove to be a key booking.

LEG 2: Francisco’s Piece, Al Qudra

FRANCISCO’S PIECE could be the answer to this wide open Coventry. He kicked off with a game win at Pontefract before going close at York’s Dante meeting. He ran another belter when scoring in France last time where he finished strongly to suggest this extra furlong will be ideal. He can run another big race. 

AL QUDRA was impressive when scoring on the all-weather at Lingfield last time when tackling this trip. He drew well clear and has more to come.

LEG 3: Big Evs, Regional

BIG EVS was a brilliant two-year-old who landed his first major victory in the Windsor Castle Stakes at the Royal meeting. He went from strength to strength, finishing with a memorable Breeders’ Cup win in the States. Any worries about him not training on were put to bed as he clocked a good time in winning a Listed contest at York last month. He gets a handy weight allowance from the older horses and his under-rated trainer Mick Appleby will have him spot on for this challenge. It was rattling fast when he scored at Santa Anita so the ground shouldn’t be an issue. 

REGIONAL is another formidable foe who finished last season winning the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup. He has plenty of decent form at this trip too and was just pipped in a hot contest at The Curragh on comeback.

LEG 4: Notable Speech 

NOTABLE SPEECH looked a well above average 2,000 Guineas winner when storming to victory at Newmarket last time. He tanked along there and showed a sharp turn of foot to score. He can take a step up from that effort and looks hard to beat. Guineas second Rosallion went on to frank the form by winning the Irish version but he will need to find another gear to turn the form around. He has scored on fast and soft ground so that’s not a bother. 

LEG 5: Zanndabad, My Lyka

ZANNDABAD was beaten less than a length in the Chester Cup last time where he came home with plenty left in the tank. He wasn’t helped by taking a wide route at that tight track and Ascot will give him a bit more time to hit top gear. The booking of William Buick takes the eye – he has won two of the past three runnings of this – and we know this stamina test will be right up his street. 

Any time you see Willie Mullins with a runner on the Flat you have to take notice and the peerless Ryan Moore gets on board his MY LYKA. He was beaten in a photo over hurdles last month on his debut for the yard and he won a couple of all-weather contests on the Flat in France. He shouldn’t quite be favourite on form but connections are respected. 

LEG 6: Israr, Torito

ISRAR takes a fair drop in class here and his best form would be enough to score. He was a Group 2 winner last summer and went close in that grade at Chester last time. He was just a length behind Passenger on the Roodee and he is fancied for Group 1 contests here this week so the form looks solid. Jim Crowley’s mount goes on any ground and his class should see him score. 

It’s another John Gosden runner who looks the main danger – TORITO. He didn’t run again last season after finishing fourth in the Hampton Court at this meeting. He came back from 11 months off to go close in a hot handicap at Newmarket last month and he could well improve on that effort.

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