CHAMPION trainer Mark Wallis holds the strongest hand in Saturday’s Arena Racing Company Cesarewitch Final at Central Park after a brace of intriguing and eventful semi-finals of the GBGB Category One six-bend showpiece at the Kent track.

Wallis will send out littermates Garfiney Blaze and Ballymac Taylor along with Mad For Sterling in the £12,500-to-the-winner decider and will be joined by Chris Hamblin’s Ela Maestro, Belinda Green’s Bradys Bullet and the David Lewis-trained Alright Gordy in the weekend’s high-class 731m contest.

It was Alright Gordy who landed a deserved but surprise 14-1 victory in the first semi-final as the Oxford star ended a losing run in all-the-way style.

The October 2021 son of Out Of Range ASB and Beaming Brae started well outside and crucially got first run on favourite Ela Maestro. However, while his trackmate was always on the premises, it was Ballymac Taylor who launched what looked likely to be a winning challenge down the far side second time.

The Wallis-trained TV Trophy hopeful made huge ground into the penultimate bend but could find no way through as the field bunched up and dropped back, giving the impetus back to Alright Gordy who went on for a length-and-a-half success over Ela Maestro and Ballymac Taylor. The winning time was 45.20sec (-30).

Winning trainer Lewis was delighted with the performance of his runner who will line up as the sole wide seed in Saturday’s final, albeit he understands the task facing the Irish-bred two-year-old.

“We’re obviously over the moon with Gordy’s run in the semis,” he said. “The look round in heats last week and another run out of the curved traps worked wonders and he’s run a brilliant run for us to not just make the final but win the semi, which is great.

“We’re under know illusions about the final. It’s going to be difficult because they’re all top-class, but with four railers there could be some sort of crowding and you never know what might happen – and we know he’s capable of taking advantage of that!

“The owners bought him and his sister Alright Patricia as they used to own their mother, Beaming Brae, who Jo Burridge trained at Poole.”

Garfiney Blaze improved his own track record over the 731m trip in the second semi-final as he overcame a moderate exit to take up the running before the penultimate turn before stretching out well to score by three and a half lengths from Bradys Bullet and the running-on Mad For Sterling, a kennelmate of the winner, in 44.55sec (-30).

It means the winner, a September 2021 son of Ballymac Anton and Ballymac Merkle, will defend an unbeaten UK record into Saturday’s decider having won both heat and semi-final of last year’s Premier Greyhound Racing St Leger for previous trainer Graham Holland – he was withdrawn from the final – before joining Wallis late last year.

Trap draw for Saturday’s Arena Racing Company Cesarewitch Final: 1 Ela Maestro, 2 Ballymac Taylor, 3 Bradys Bullet, 4 Garfiney Blaze, 5 Mad For Sterling (m), 6 Alright Gordy (w).