Thanks to a third place in the third heat at Cranbourne Red Hot Tooth will line up for this Saturday’s prestigious $150,000 race, where the mare will search for her fifth Group 1 title.

Red Hot Tooth has been the stable star for Males, earning just shy of $300,000. The Yankee Paco mare now has a chance to add one of trotting’s crown jewels to her name.

Victory will require bringing down the likes of super stars Tornado Valley and Speeding Spur but it’s far from an impossible task for Males’ mare who boasts plenty of class.

Monday’s morning’s barrier draw wasn’t kind to Red Hot Tooth who drew the 13 gate.

Males said qualifying Red Hot Tooth for the Inter Dominion final feels all the more satisfying after a difficult build up.

“It feels fantastic. I’m a bit deflated about the barrier draw but it feels fantastic to have one in the final, for sure,” she said.

“It’s a big relief because I thought she deserved a start in it. She’s had horror draws the whole way through. Her last draw wasn’t great until a couple of scratchings helped her out a bit.

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“We had some issues with her before the series started so it was nice when everything came together. It was a bit touch and go whether she’d make it but we were very happy with that third placing.”

Driver Zac Phillips took Red Hot Tooth ($34.70) to the front of the field early in Saturday’s heat before Tornado Valley ($1.10 favourite) breezed to the front.

Phillips stuck close to Tornado Valley along the pegs before the leader blew the rest of the field off the track in the closing 200m.

Save Our Pennys ($6) finished strongly for second but Red Hot Tooth battled on to see off a host of horses in the battle for third.

The result saw Red Hot Tooth qualify seventh overall for the final, finishing comfortably inside the all-important top 12.

“From that draw you hope to just drop in … and hope they go mad early, and there is a bit of speed on in front,” Males said of the upcoming final.

“We might have been done a favour not getting caught up in that early speed battle over the distance.”

Males grew up in Bathurst and following her time at university travelled around the country to work for different trainers until she built up a successful operation of her own.

She has put together a strong stable featuring the likes of Queensland Breeders Triad placegetter Maestro Bellini and Breeders Challenge finalist San Domino but no horse has come close to matching Red Hot Tooth’s success.

The Bathurst connections are strong with Red Hot Tooth. Males has training duties while Graham Bullock is the breeder and owner.