Records will be equalled and broken

RECORDS will be equalled and broken if Just Believe successfully defends his Inter Dominion title on Saturday night.

Winner of last season’s Melton-based edition, Just Believe is a short-priced favourite to repeat the dose at Albion Park atfer drawing to find the lead from barrier four.

Should the Jess Tubbs-trained trotter emerge triumphant he will become just the fourth competitor to win consecutive Finals.

Pride Of Petite was the ground breaker in 1996 and ’97, followed by Sundons Gift in 2009 and ’10 and I Can Doosit in ’11 and ’12.

Victory will also see Just Believe become the first to complete two cleans sweeps when the Championship is conducted over three heats and a Final.

By dominating last year, Just Believe etched his name alongside Take A Moment and Tornado Valley, which won three qualifiers and the decider in 2003 and 2018.

Nine squaregaiters – Battle Cry, No Response, Sir Castleton, Tussle, True Roman, Yankee Loch, Buster Hanover, Delft and I Can Doosit – made clean sweeps of two heats and a Final.

Former Queen of Trotting, Gramel, holds the unceremonious record of winning three heats before falling short in the Final, finishing fourth in 1965.

Then there is Just Believe’s driver – Tubbs’ husband Greg Sugars – who is aiming to become the first reinsman to win three successive Inter Dominions, having captured the 2021 Final with Maori Law.

As it stands, Sugars is one of only three drivers to win consecutive Finals with different runners.

Robert Young won the first two Trotters’ Inter Dominions in 1948 and ’51 with Aerial Scott and Gay Belwin before Anthony Butt matched the feat in 2000 and 2001 with Lyell Creek and Take A Moment.