Sparks flew in Sunday night’s heats of the Sportsbet Ballarat Cup which has set up a mouth watering final.

Explicit was the fastest heat winner with a time of 24.76 – less than two lengths shy of Silver Lake'strack record of 24.67.

After a tardy get away he exploded and punched through a gap to win easily. It was his first race outing since last month's Sandgroper at Cannington. He'll have every opportunity to claim his fourth major having drawn box 1 in the final.

Matt Loch notched up his 10th win from his past 12 starts in the opening heat. The Warrnambool Cup winner has drawn box 2 and will go punch-for-punch with Explicit in the early stages.

The inexperienced He Shines made a significant statement in the final heat – his time was just over a length slower than Explicit. It was just his third race out of restricted win company and will carry serious x-factor in the decider.

Other heat winners were Pat Ability and Champagne Cuddle with the fastest three runner-ups Kingsley Bale, Quinlan Bale and Description also progressing.

The $83,000 Sportsbet Ballarat Cup final will be run this Friday night.

Make sure you get along for an action-packed night of racing and entertainment. Free entry and your chance to win up to $1000 cash with the Lift the Lids promotion, 'Fun Money' casino tables, Collingwood vs Western Bulldogs live on the big screen and kick on after the last with our live DJ.