KHAN Marr has the backmark for the weekend’s $12,500 Ballarat Gift.
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Marr will run from 3.25m in the 120-metre Gift at the Eastern Oval.
He has drawn the ninth heat for Saturday night, with the semi-finals and final set for Sunday.
Ballarat’s 2012 Stawell Gift winner Matthew Wiltshire and 2014 Ballarat Gift winner Nathan Riali are next in the handicaps on 3.75m.
Last year’s winner Craig Mair has gone back from 12m to 9.75m and will face the starter in heat two.
Marr, who won the 2013 backmarkers’ invitation 120m at Stawell and was last year the second ranked 100m runner in Victoria, last ran in a Victorian Athletic League meet at Wangaratta, where he won a Gift heat from 3.25m before finishing fourth in the final.
The 33-year-old’s only other VAL appearance this year was at Maryborough on New Year’s Day, when the former Jamaican bobsledder won a Gift heat and finished fourth in the final.
Wiltshire is making a second attempt at a comeback.
He had his first race start since late 2012 in a 70m heat at Warrnambool in November, but tore his groin before getting to the finish line and has not competed since.
Wiltshire said he would definitely line up in Ballarat.
Riali is back in his home state after impressive form in the Tasmanian Christmas Carnivals, where he came off the back mark to take out the 200m at Devonport.
He went on from there to make the Burnie Gift final on New Year’s Day.
These followed an Albury-Wodonga Gift heat win and 70m semi-final appearance in early December.
Riali has drawn the last of the 10 heats on the twilight program, in which he will face stiff opposition from Kevin Brittain (6.75m).
Liam Procaccino (7.25m) shapes as Ballarat’s best hope of a first hometown Ballarat Gift win since Rod Mathews and Peter O’Dwyer went back-to-back in 2009 and 2010.
Procaccino won the St Albans Gift on January 16, and won a 100m heat and finsihed second in a 400m heat at Ringwood on Saturday.
Ballarat's other Gift runners: Peter O'Dwyer (10.75m) heat 2, Rob Lehmann (11m) heat 3, Mason Keast (8.5m) heat 5, Stuart Aberdein (8m) heat 6, Shane Woodrow (9.5m) heat 8.,
The $38,300 Ballarat Gift Carnival begins with a program running into the twilight on Saturday.
The Ballarat Women’s Gift heats are from 3.55pm and Ballarat Gift heats from 4.45pm.
The last event is at 7.45pm
Sunday’s racing begins at 9.15am, with the women’s Gift final at 3.25pm and Ballarat Gift final at 3.35pm.
GIFT HEATS
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 1
RED Matthew Wiltshire 3.75
WHITE Nathan Ryan 6
BLUE Daniel Sonsini 7
YELLOW Sajeethan Nallavairan 7.5
GREEN Dion Paull 8.25
PINK Rhys Parkinson 9
BLACK Dale Lyons 9.75
GREY Darren Whittaker 12
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 2
RED Andrew Robinson 4
WHITE Ifiok Otung 6
BLUE Shaun Hargreaves 7
YELLOW Edward Ware 7.5
GREEN Kristerfer Kardakovski 9
PINK Craig Mair 9.75
BLACK Peter O'Dwyer 10.75
GREY Marcus Cooper 11.5
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 3
RED Luke Houlihan 4.25
WHITE Matthew Hargreaves 6
BLUE Ben Kirk 7
YELLOW Oliver Wurm 7.75
GREEN Joshua Tiu 8.25
PINK Steven Blacker 9.25
BLACK Michael Voumard 9.75
GREY Rob Lehmann 11
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 4
RED Tom Templeton 4.25
WHITE Carl Morehouse 6.25
BLUE Nicholas Repalust 7.25
YELLOW Stuart Rooke 8
GREEN Ryan Camille 8.5
PINK Fraser Heard 9.5
BLACK Noddy Angelakos 11.5
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 5
RED Tim Rooke 4.5
WHITE Laurent Stewart 6.5
BLUE Liam Procaccino 7.25
YELLOW Cam Dunbar 8
GREEN Mason Keast 8.5
PINK David Gross 9.5
BLACK Jake Robinson 10
GREY Peter Knott 11.5
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 6
RED Jarred Gilroy 5.25
WHITE Dale Woodhams 6.5
BLUE Matthew Rizzo 7.25
YELLOW Stuart Aberdein 8
GREEN Jason Bailey 8.5
PINK Jimmie Gladman 9.5
BLACK Matthew Harvey 10.25
GREY Craig Foley 12
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 7
RED Robert Vidler 5.5
WHITE Damian Horan 6.5
BLUE Jasper Nettlefold 7.25
YELLOW Robert Spencer 8
GREEN Tom Paavola 8.75
PINK Samuel Grouis 9.5
BLACK Lachlan Taylor 10
GREY Vic Sharma 12
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 8
RED Isaac Dunmall 5.75
WHITE Augustine Carty-Cowling 6.5
BLUE Mohamad Zeed 7.5
YELLOW Michael Bull 8
GREEN Jack Doderico 8.75
PINK Shane Woodrow 9.5
BLACK Dean Dobric 10.25
GREY Lawrence Coop 12
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 9
RED Khan Marr 3.25
WHITE James Vine 5.75
BLUE Ryan McNamara 6.75
YELLOW Simon Chan 7.5
GREEN Daniel Steinhauser 8.25
PINK Andrew Campbell 9
BLACK Ryan Clohessy 9.5
GREY Chris Diegan 10.25
BALLARAT GIFT HEAT 10
RED Nathan Riali 3.75
WHITE Paul Tancredi 6
BLUE Kevin Brittain 6.75
YELLOW Jack Lacey 7.5
GREEN Charlie Moran 9
PINK Mark Hignett 10.75
BLACK David Polichovski 12