Paul Hennessy is the man to beat in the Frightful Flash Kennels McCalmont Cup over 525 yards at Kilkenny on Friday.
The Gowran trainer has the two semi-final winners Ecclestone, who clocked 29.08sec and Kilara Hey Mac, who did one spot slower.
Ecclestone was a semi-finalist in last year’s English Derby at Wimbledon but went off the boil.
The son of Top Honcho, who clocked the fastest sectional time of 4.38sec before going on to beat Roo Ace by half a length, is given a narrow vote.
Kennelmate Kilara Hey Mac will be a serious rival.
The Ullid Conor dog is the only unbeaten finalist after winning in 29.08sec, 29.13sec and 29.09sec.
He is a real course specialist having won 15 of his 20 races at Kilkenny and landed last year’s Champion Juvenile at the track.