The six-year-old will compete tonight at Mt Gambier, giving the son of Well Said a three-day break heading into the Ararat showdown.

"He will run tonight, and he will have a few light days and then off to Ararat," Finnis said.

"Normally he doesn't run too close together, but it's pretty hard for him to get a race at the moment."

The 63-year-old trainer is confident the travel across the border won't affect his boy, with two of his 17 career wins here in Victoria.

"He's not the best traveller, but he manages to perform when he gets to the races, so we will see how he goes," he said.

"It's going to be hard, but if the speed is on all the way he is going to be a chance."

An unlucky seventh place finish in the Mt Noorat Freighters Pace on Terang Cup night was Royal Speech's last run.

"He went alright at Terang. He sort of ran up their backs, but he couldn't go anywhere," Finnis said.

"He has worked well since, so we will see how he goes."

Winning an Ararat Pacing Cup would be a delight for the South Australian local, who trains from a base in Glencoe.

"It would be a bit of a thrill and it would be a bit of a shock as well," he said.

The Matthew Craven-prepared Silent Major (eight) and the Kevin Von Duve-trained and $2.80 favourite Springfield Affair (nine) make up the back row in Friday night's 2195m event.

The other feature on the card is the $25,000 Ararat Premix King Ararat Trotters Cup, where the Brent Lilley-prepared Kyvalley Hotspur will start as the sole 10m backmarker.