The Cessnock trainer, who won the Newcastle premiership with 83 winners last season, will debut the Allan McColl-owned Bettors Delight gelding in race five.

Harmey expected Im Quick As Fire, a winner three times in 39 starts in New Zealand, to be too strong in the up to 53 ranking event despite the draw in 10.

"We drive him in behind at home and he sprints pretty well so I think he'll handle that," Harmey said.

"He's just put lengths on them in work. He will probably win a fair few races.

"He's really stepped up and I like him a lot more than most of the Kiwis I've had.

"He's a bit mad and does some silly things but once he settles down and learns the Australian way of racing, I think he'll be pretty good."

On Thursday at Tamworth, Harmey-trained Major Bob claimed his Breeders Challenge heat of the three-year-old colts and geldings series in a near track record time to qualify for semi-finals.

Major Bob led and won by almost 10m from stablemate Big Black Diamond in 1:55:3 for the mile, just 0.1 of a second outside the record. Harmey said Major Bob was one of the best he's trained.

"He did it with the earplugs in and first-up," he said.

"He hadn't run since July and he had one trial a fortnight ago. He'll improve off that run, but not too much. I had him pretty much ready to rock and roll."

Harmey's Dollys On A Roll was second in the fillies edition to KerryAnn Morris-trained Eye Can Run.

"She went very good,"

"[Driver Blake Hughes] probably should have kept punching on under him and got to the front first and I think that probably would have changed the result of the race, but it wasn't to be.

"Second might be enough to get her through to the semis, and she gets another chance in the heats up here."

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