LIZ McNAIR has a real grip on the Arc Kent Plate ahead of Saturday’s final at Central Park after her kennel landed all three semi-finals of the £12,500-to-the-winner 491m competition at the weekend.

Having won the inaugural running of the competition with Fromposttopillar last year, McNair’s team will now send out four finalists on Saturday – three of them littermates – after litter brothers King Memphis and King Capaldi both won along with kennelmate Queen Joni for a clean sweep for the local handler.

First up was King Memphis as the December 2021 daughter of Droopys Sydney and Queen Beyonce was soon dominating and on his way to a three-and-a-quarter lengths win over Droopys Reserve (Maxine Locke), with the Olympic champion again setting the standard on the clock. The winning time was 29.05sec (-10).

Littermate King Capaldi later almost matched his brother’s feat, posting a faster split time (3.13) on his way to a two-and-a-quarter lengths win from Queen Shakira, another member of the Queen Beyonce litter, who held the finish of Newinn Deejay (Mark Wallis) by the minimum margin to claim a place in the Category One decider.

The winning time for King Capaldi was 29.13sec (-10, while sandwiched in between those victories, Queen Joni also struck for the McNair team with an impressive turn of early pace seizing the initiative at the first bend in the second semi-final before a one-and-a-quarter lengths win from Whyaye Man (Mark Wallis) in 29.28sec (-10).

Queen Joni is a December 2021 daughter of Droopys Sydney and Queen Jessiej.

Brendan Keogh of the owning KSS Syndicate, which he shares along with Simon Senyk and Ian Openshaw, was delighted to see the home-bred Kings and Queens shine at Central Park – and at Oxford.

“It was a busy night all round,” he said. “We obviously had the runners at Central Park and they’ve all done well, but we also had King Ezra and Havana Top Note at Oxford. They needed another spin before the (Bet365) Hunt Cup this week and also won – Top Note actually broke the track record again which was great.

“We did well in the Hunt Cup last year and once again we’re grateful to Wayne and Liz Maizey for their help at Oxford on Saturday – they’re our lucky charm there!

“We might need some luck at Central Park, too. You’d really want Shakira the other side of Joni and we know Memphis and Capaldi are railers, but hopefully they choose the right moment to head across. With four of them in there, it was never going to be straightforward but you wouldn’t change it, of course.

“It’s been a good start to the year,” reflected Keogh. “It was always going to be quieter than the backend of last year when we were here, there and everywhere – and the dogs did brilliantly to win those competitions.

“We decided to concentrate on Central Park instead of heading up to Nottingham (BGBF Breeders Stakes) which made more sense given where we are, especially where Rab and Liz are concerned and the travel involved. So far, so good.”

Trap draw for Saturday’s final: 1 Queen Shakira, 2 Queen Joni, 3 Droopys Reserve, 4 King Memphis, 5 King Capaldi, 6 Whyaye Man.