Will it be all black for the McNeil Championship?

Following two rounds of heats, the capacity field has been decided for Saturday night’s Jim McNeil Trotting Championship Final.

With all four heats taken out by a different winner, it shapes as an intriguing contest as to which horse will best handle the rise to the 2647 metres for the final.

Heats were held over the middle trip of 2138 metres and some serious question marks will be placed on several runners for this week’s longer trip.

Six runners in the final have never gone 13 furlongs with another four having raced but not been victorious at 2600 metres or beyond.

Agent Black tackled the first-round heats when resuming from a spell and was able to finish second to Darcys Fireball after just peaking in the closing stages.

A feature winning two-year-old, it was an interrupted three-year-old campaign for the stylish son of Sebastian K, however he did manage to finish third in the NSW Trotters Derby behind the unbeaten superstar Keayang Zahara.

Rounding out the year with successive Albion Park victories in October, he resumed in this series with that second placing.

Fighting them off second up, the four-year-old will be tightened from the run and be looking to give Shane Graham a second McNeil final, having claimed the 2015 edition aboard No Bones About it.

Agent Black

Another chasing another McNeil victory will be two-time winning trainer Grant Dixon who will be represented by six-year-old Banff, a second-round heat winner.

The Majestic Son gelding was dominant in the victory and will this week be partnered by Jack Chapple.

“He looked like he had plenty left in the tank there last week, he was real strong to the line,” Chapple said when assessing the gelding’s chances.

Agent Black, Banff and Five Oclock Gerry are the top three in the market, with the Greg Franklin trained Five Oclock Gerry installed as the race favourite when markets first opened following placings in both heat rounds.

It was Nathan Dawson that took the reins in each of the heats for Franklin, but Angus Garrard will take the seat for the final, with Dawson committed to driving the Graham Dwyer trained Not As Promised in New Zealand.

The Dwyer stable will be chasing feature trotting success on either side of the Tasman across the weekend, with Layne taking the reins on Madeakillin in the McNeil Final.

Now a nine-year-old, Madeakillin is four runs back from a long layoff and caught the eye running on in the stretch last week behind Agent Black.

“He hit the line real strong,” Dwyer said.

“Looking on paper they should run along a bit, there are some trotters in there that like to bowl along and trotters there that aren’t that tough either.

“I think we just have to drive him as quiet as we can and just give him one run,” he said.

The Jim McNeil Trotting Championship Final is race six at 8.40pm.

Madeakillin

Race four is the Racing & Sports Divided Open Pace where the Chantal Turpin trained Wisper A Secret will be chasing back-to-back victories.

Saved for one shot at them last start, the closing 200 metre sprint was sizzling from the five-year-old which was able to reel them in when claiming victory over Turn It Up and Tims A Trooper.

Drawn gate seven, Wisper A Secret faces a tough ask at the mile but might just be sent forward in a race that potentially lacks a genuine leader.

Manila Playboy has drawn well in gate one but will be making his first appearance since mid-February where he was sent forward from gate five but was rundown in the closing stages of the 2138 metre trip by Tims A Trooper.

Drawn to follow through Manila Playboy at the start, it will be Jack Chapple that has the reins aboard Tims A Trooper with Grant Dixon on Leap To Fame transportation duties.

“Sectionally he was great last week and a nice soft draw on the fence should play out well for him,” Chapple said.

“Manila Playboy generally leaves the arm pretty well so hopefully he has got enough speed to hold the main ones out and if they choose to sit on Wisper A Secret, three fence isn’t the end of the world in a race like that.”

Race one is set to jump at 5.45pm, with the last, race 10 at 10.30pm.

BEST BETS

Chris Barsby

R3 N4 Throwyaarmsaroundme – “The first up run was enormous. Last week as we learned from Adam Sanderson, barrier one, it was just the wrong gate for him. He moves out a few spots here on Saturday night, he is back up to 2138 metres and he was luckless last week in that opening race on the card. I think if he has any luck going his way on Saturday night he can score.”

Darren Clayton

R5 N9 Checknoutthetalent – “Last week he tried to lead throughout over the 2138 and set a strong tempo when collared in the closing stages. His recent performances have been in races that look stronger than this and a return to the mile should be ideal, coupled with the fact he is potentially better at being the hunter rather than the hunted.”