The Racing League is set for an exciting final fixture at Southwell on Wednesday night, with only two points splitting the top two teams.

After recording four wins on the first night at Great Yarmouth, Wales & The West have been competitive throughout whilst Ireland made up a significant amount of points in the previous two fixtures at Wolverhampton and Newcastle.

Wales & The West team manager Jamie Osborne said: "I was relieved that we retained our lead last week given we put out our weakest squad of the competition.

"As far as this week is concerned, I can see Ireland regaining the lead through the first part of the card but, with two jokers up our sleeve, I see us getting stronger as the night goes on.

"I think we look very strong in the two-mile race with Blazeon Five and Zain Nights, who are both last-time-out winners, although annoyingly I cannot play a joker as there are only 11 runners. 

"Away from that, I think we have good options in the six-furlong, mile and 12-furlong races and that is where my jokers will be played."

Ireland's manager Kevin Blake is hopeful of a good evening: "We are up against it because for all Jamie is only narrowly ahead, he does have both jokers left to play. We are going to have to absolutely knock it out the park, while we will need Jamie to fluff his lines. But as we saw last year, you can have some late drama in this competition.

"I think we have good strength in depth the whole way through. We have five Irish-trained horses coming over, three for Ado McGuinness and two for Johnny Levins. Four of those horses have run during the competition already and have acquitted themselves well, with two winning. 

"George Boughey has a strong hand and I know David Loughnane is keen on his runner Hat Toss. We also have old Gulliver on the team for David O'Meara, who feels he is ready to strike having been in the wilderness for a while. Richard Hughes is also very strong on his pair Faster Bee and Cinnodin. 

"None of ours will be big prices and should be in the mix. These races are so competitive, you need the run of the race for it to happen, and the draws have generally been quite kind, whereas last week they weren't. 

"It has been a real fun competition for me this year because in the last couple of years I have taken an absolute hiding. It has been great to be competitive and hopefully that continues onWednesday."

Whilst Wales & The West will be aiming to retain last year's title, it seems likely that team rider Saffie Osborne is set for back-to-back victories in the leading jockey standings. She is 61 points ahead of her nearest rival Dylan Browne McDonagle, who will not be riding at the fixture.

Racing League standings 

Wales & The West                 666pts

Ireland                                   664pts

London & The South              581pts

The North                               578pts

The East                                510pts

Yorkshire                                378pts

Scotland                                 257pts