mmg.com.au

Visiting Scandinavian horseman Terje Melnas will make his Australian driving debut at tonight’s Shepparton Trots Club meeting.

Melnas will have the sit behind the Chris Lang Sr-trained trotter Kyvalley Rap in the opening event for T1 or better class trotters at 6.26pm.

Melnas will have to bring the trotter from a 10m handicap to figure in the finish, but Kyvalley Rap has some good form credentials, with two wins, two seconds and a last-start fourth in his past four trips to the racetrack.

Lang has no doubts Melnas will do the horse justice.

‘‘He is a very competent horseman,’’ Lang said.

‘‘He’s not the biggest name in trotting in Norway and Sweden, where he has training bases, as he only prepares small teams, but he certainly knows what he is doing.’’

Melnas, from Norway, is based at Lang’s Wahring training establishment, preparing Scandinavian trotter Ridgehead Cahore for the Great Southern Star series at Melton on March 23.

Meanwhile, tonight’s seven-race card at Shepparton has drawn some even fields and should provide a keen night’s racing.

Tallygaroopna trainer Joe Anderson will attempt a hat-trick of wins with Hoppyjoe, when he contests the Trot Pace Final, the fifth race on the card.

Concession reinsman David Moran will drive the pacer again to try and complete the hat-trick.

Elmore trainer Keith Cotchin looks to have a chance of a training double at the meeting with last-start winners Four Zoe and Chiquita Bromac.

Four Zoe is a last-start winner of the track, but will have to overcome an extreme outside second-row draw in the third race for three-year-old pacers.

The Geoff Martin-trained Trotting Rossco is another last-start winner who’ll line up at tonight’s meeting. He looks to have a good chance of completing back-to-back wins in a CO-class race.