Queensland trainers were able to take two Heats of the Pacers Series on night two of the 2023 Ladbrokes Inter Dominion with Speak The Truth and Leap To Fame both successful.
The third heat saw trainer Jason Grimson secure his second heat win of the Series when Nerano was able to finish best to defeat Better Eclipse.
Following the seven Heats, Leap To Fame remains the only pacer undefeated in the Series following his win at the mile in the first round, leading the points table into the third round over Nerano and Better Eclipse.
The first heat on night two saw Speak The Truth looking to overcome the presence of Swayzee and soon after the start, Adam Sanderson was able to send the talented four-year-old to the front.
With a genuine tempo, the lead time was in 36 seconds with a first half of 57.9 as Rock N Roll Doo moved forward to sit at the wheel of the leader.
Swayzee had managed to ease off the inside and with Sanderson dialling the tempo up to a 27.5 third split, he looked to have them chasing and the main danger appeared to be camped right on his back, the KerryAnn Morris trained and Robbie Morris driven Petes Said So.
Turning for home, Speak The Truth rallied strongly and was able to finish them off in a 27.2 closing split to claim top points and give trainer Shannon Price her first Inter Dominion heat victory.
The rate of 1.51.9 was the fastest of the three heats and just 0.2 outside the track record set by Leap To Fame in the Queensland Cup last month.
Heat two saw Turn It Up lead easily from gate 1 and with the absence of any pressure, Shane graham opted to chase an all the way victory.
After a steady lead time and then a first half of 60.6, Greg Sugars moved around them with Better Eclipse to sit parked with 1200m to travel.
With a 27.6 third split, the race had developed into a sprint up the Albion Park stretch and it was Nerano for Jason Grimson and Cam Hart which possessed the best speed to finish over the top and claim victory.
Better Eclipse fought on to hold second with Turn It Up claiming another third placing after finishing in the same position in round 1.
Series favourite, Leap To Fame was a long odds-on favourite despite the second line gate in the third and final Heat of the night over the 2138m trip.
Our Money Rocks from gate 1 was able to driver through early and hold the lead, with Spirit Of St Louis finding the space to drop in behind the leader and take the trail.
With one mile left to travel, Hot And Treacherous moved out to make a three-wide move, with Betterzippit following and Leap To Fame tacking on to the back of the train.
That left Leap To Fame finding the position outside the leader Our Money Rocks with one lap left to travel.
An opening quarter of 58 was followed by a third panel of 28, setting it up for a last panel blitz.
Running it hard and fast up the stretch, it got tight in the closing stages and Dixon had to urge Leap To Fame and get him to dig deep.
With Spirit Of St Louis taking one last dive up the passing lane, Leap To Fame dug in for the fight to claim victory by a head margin.
Our Money Rocks which started to hang in the closing stages was able to grab another third after finishing with the bronze in the opening round.
The Trotters Series has two unbeaten Victorians after Ollivici and Just Believe were again able to claim their respective Heats.
Queen Elida was again sent out favourite in heat 4 and after finding the front in easy fashion was soon joined and pressured by Gus with Chantal Turpin moving up to apply the heat.
Initially repelling the pressure, Chris Alford aboard Queen Elida relented and took the trail on Gus with the opening half in a slick 57.4 seconds.
The tempo stayed upbeat, with a 29.6 third split and Gus was running the race of his life in front and making the big guns really chase.
Queen Elida was all out, while Chris Lang on Ollivici had been patiently stalking the leading pair after dropping down to three back along the inside and made his move on the five-year-old.
Looming strongly in the stretch, Ollivici arrived to defeat a game Queen Elida, with Gus an outstanding third place finish.
Just Believe meanwhile, remains on target to make a clean sweep of the Series and make it a sweep of successive Series following his three heat and Final wins in 2022.
The Daren Garrard trained an Angus Garrad driven Sir Fahrenheit had the early speed but handed over to Plymouth Chubb soon after, with Greg Sugars finding plenty of space to ease away from the inside and into the running line.
Making a move at the 1200, Sugars sent Just Believe around to sit parked for the final lap with the opening half in a very steady 62.4 seconds.
Plymouth Chubb and Just Believe went head-to-head through the final 800 metres, with a 27.4 third split, pulling clear of the chasing pack.
Turning for home, the Victorian pair were locked in battle, with Just Believe gaining the upper hand near the line to prevail by a half-neck margin.
The final quarter of 27.7 realised a sizzling last half of 55.1, one of- if not the- fastest last half for a square gaiter around Albion Park.
With Just Believe and Ollivici remaining undefeated after two Heat rounds, they both will not make the Final undefeated, with the pair drawn to clash on Saturday night in Round 3.
This Saturday night will see the heats step up to the same distance as the Final of 2680 metres.
