Team Gillies gaining northern exposure

Melissa and Keith Gillies have been rewarded for their perseverance and efforts when successful with their first win of 2025 at The Creek on Saturday night.

It may not have been a textbook preparation leading into a feature race target, however, the name on an honour roll cares only about the winner, which will show Northern Heights for the 2025 Jim McNeil Trotting Championship.

After finishing in eighth place in the first-round heats, a place in the final was in danger for the Gillies trained Northern Heights and after a fifth in the second round, the gelding squeezed through to the final field in twelfth on the points ballot.

Finishing his three-year-old season, the gelding was sent for a spell and that is when the plan went awry.

Only in the paddock for two weeks, Northern Heights faced a paddock mishap, suffering a deep wound between the chest and shoulder.

“He went for a two-week spell and then came back to us where we bandaged him twice a day,” Melissa Gillies said.

“It was a chequered spell.”

With the McNeil the initial target, having him ready in time and running out the 2647 metres of the final were challenges the Gillies’ were hopeful that the four-year-old would be able to meet.

“We always had faith in his ability, but 2600 was always a question and he probably needed another trial going into the series, but we didn’t get that into him,” she said.

When the tapes released in the final, it was Aldebaranstilinksi that was the best off the mark and found the front early before being challenged by Son Of A Sun, with that runner working to the lead.

Starting from the 10-metre handicap, Northern Heights was safely away for Pete McMullen, however as the field found their order, the gelding was left exposed through the opening 1200 metres as Agent Black eventually worked to the front to wrest the lead away from Son Of A Sun.

“It’s the one place we didn’t really want to be,” Gillies laughed.

With a steady tempo, equal favourite Five Oclock Gerry was sent forward to sit parked for the last 1400 metres, providing the one-by-one trail to Northern Heights.

Approaching the final bend, Agent Black was under pressure as Five Oclock Gerry moved up to hit the front on straightening, but McMullen was driving confidently and angled to the outside and loomed strongly.

Northern Heights was travelling by far the better and moved to the front and pulled clear for an impressive victory, the official margin recorded at 11.5 metres over More Surprises, with Kyvalley Finn finding late space to grab third.

The winning rate of 2.01.4 is the second quickest for a McNeil Final since being held at The Creek, with only Gus in 2024 recording a better rate when he stopped the clock in 2.00.8, with the win the third McNeil Championship for McMullen.

With wins in 2021aboard Unknown Son and in 2024 with Gus, McMullen also became the first driver to win the Final in successive years with his third win in the Championship.

It is a team effort around the Gillies stable, with a mix of pacers and trotters and Saturday’s feature victory was a nice way to get on the board for 2025, which might just have some bigger targets following Northern Heights victory.

“The Great Square was a loose aim,” Melissa said.

“We haven’t really thought past now to be honest.

“He is starting to settle down and starting work things out.”

That shapes well for the rest of 2025 and beyond.