One of only two horses off the front, Kyvalley Heist stepped straight to the lead and Larsen was allowed to dictate the terms of the race to suit himself on settling.

James Herberston wasn't happy with the dawdling tempo on the $2.50 favorite Mercenary and made an unsuccessful attempt to wrest the death seat off his main danger Keayang Xena ($2.90) with two laps to travel.

A 64.4 first half of the last mile ensured Kyvalley Heist ($4.20) had plenty in reserve for the run home and the Brent Lilley-trained trotter cruised to the line holding a six-metre advantage over Keayang Xena in a leisurely mile rate of 2:07.7.

The 21-year-old Larsen is the son of prominent New Zealand trainers Kirk and Michelle Larsen.

"In the warm-up he felt really good, so I thought I'd drive him how he feels and it worked out well," Larsen said.

Larsen, who drove Kyvalley Heist to victory in the Central Victorian Trotters Championship Final at his last start, said the son of Muscle Mass keeps raising the bar.

"It was a step-up in class tonight, but he seems to be getting better and better. Hats off to him," he said.

Larsen works for Lilley and has no plans to return home to New Zealand in the immediate future.

"I'm getting quite a few good drives and plenty of drives too, so I'll stay until it ends," he said.