This year’s Racing League is set for a fascinating conclusion after Wales & The West just about maintained top spot from Ireland.

Jamie Osborne’s defending champions have been blazing a trail throughout, but the Kevin Blake-managed Irish outfit enjoyed a good night at Newcastle last week and that was the case again at Wolverhampton on Thursday, with just the finale at Southwell on Wednesday to come.

Wales & The West led by 568 points to 496 heading into the fifth week at Dunstall Park, but by the end of play that was down to just two points (666 to 664).

After solid placed efforts in the opening few races, Ireland hit the jackpot with the Billy Loughnane-ridden, George Boughey-trained Koy Koy in race four – a win that also put crack apprentice Loughnane on 94 career winners, just one away from losing his claim.

Race five looked like going to Ireland, too, as Naxos and Dylan Browne McMonagle went for home, only to be swamped by Freddy Larson aboard Rebecca Menzies’ Painters Palette for Mick Quinn’s North team.

Even better for Quinn was that he played a joker, one that rewarded his squad with 70 points from the race.

Blake’s confidence seemed to be riding high for race six, as he too played a joker but the well-fancied 9-4 favourite Belgoprince and Loughnane had to settle for fourth place, one in front of another Irish runner, Percy Jones.

But while the points were still doubled for a positive Irish outcome that took them to the summit, Blake did admit to being disappointed the joker did not pay a better dividend, especially as he has no more left to play.

“We had a big chance to stick a nail in Osborne this evening, I feel we’ve only done half a job. When you play a joker you want better than that, so I’m disappointed,” he told Sky Sports Racing.

“Osborne with his two jokers will be tough next week, I don’t think we’ll be much weaker next week – I’ve got a good feeling about next week, I’ve got a bunch of trainers ringing and wanting spots which is exactly what you want.

“If Osborne nails his two jokers, we’re all in trouble, but if he scuffs one…”

The feature event of the night was the concluding William Hill Pick Your Places Racing League Race 35 Handicap, carrying £100,000 in prize-money and which produced success for the Scotland team, with Linda Perratt playing a joker and being rewarded by victory for George Baker’s Get It, ridden by Paul Mulrennan.

It also proved a critical race in the standings, as placed horses for Wales & The West saw them just about back on top, to add to the feeling of what might have been for Blake.

Notable also on a night where Saffie Osborne was not in action in order to be able to take a full book of rides for her father’s team at Southwell, was that McMonagle seized the opportunity to eat into her advantage at the top of the jockeys’ standings.

“I didn’t think I was as close to Saffie as that, I’m creeping up quite nicely,” he said.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to come over next week, but I’ll take it as it comes.”

Away from the Racing League, McMonagle is looking forward to a big weekend at the Irish Champions Festival, including Joseph O’Brien’s Atlantic Coast in Saturday’s KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown.

He added: “He’s a lovely colt, he couldn’t really have pleased us more the first day at the Curragh. Also our two-year-olds usually progress from their first runs so what he showed us on his debut was really special. We’ll be confident of a good run, but it’s obviously competitive racing so fingers crossed.”

Wales & The West and Saffie Osborne lead the way in the William Hill Racing League, after a dramatic evening that saw fire engines called to Chepstow on night two of the competition.

London & The South took maximum points in the first race as Eve Johnson Houghton’s Cabinet Of Clowns (15-2) was steered by Charlie Bishop to a half-length success.

But the action then came to an abrupt halt when an electrical fault caused a fire in a kitchen at the track, with some water also coming through the ceiling in the weighing-room area resulting in the complex having to be evacuated.

A number of fire engines arrived at the scene and the track was eventually deemed safe, creating a near 40-minute delay to the contest scheduled for 6.00pm.

“There’s been an electrical fault upstairs in the weighing-room complex and it’s turned off all the power in the weighing room,” clerk of the course Libby O’Flaherty told Sky Sports Racing during the delay.

“We’re waiting for the fire engine to get here so we can deem it safe to carry on.

“It’s (the water) just by the door when you go in (to the weighing room), the water came through and that’s all been cleaned up.

“We’re just waiting for the fire brigade to tell us everything is fine.”

The delayed race was won by Rod Millman’s Chinese Knot, the 7-4 favourite being steered to victory by last year’s leading rider as Osborne bagged the first leg of a double.

The same jockey then crossed line first in the next, with Executive Decision (5-2 favourite) prevailing after a photo finish to get even more points on the board for the Wales & The West outfit.

Scotland were triumphant in the fourth contest on the card when Totnes (4-1) struck for Paul Mulrennan and Andrew Balding, with Ireland enjoying their first success of the series when Star Harbour (12-1) was a winner for Adrian McGuinness and Dylan Browne McMonagle.

In both of those races Wales & The West had placed runners and when Tim Easterby’s Manila Scouse took the penultimate race as the 8-11 favourite for David Allan and Yorkshire, the third- and fourth-placed horses gained even more points for the leaders.

The final event went the way of the North, with the 9-2 favourite Ramazan winning for Richard Fahey and Oisin Orr in a race worth £100,000.

The evening left Wales & The West with a significant advantage in front on 319 points, whereas Ireland sit in second with 242 and London & The South third on 231.

Osborne is the leading riding so far as she sits at the top of the jockey leader board on 161 points.

Jamie Osborne, trainer of Executive Decision and father of Saffie, said: “We’ve got a good spread of horses, we don’t have the biggest trainers in the world but I think in a way that’s a help.

“Some of the bigger trainers have other fish to fry, this kind of prize-money is very important to our owners.

“We’re well positioned, but we’re not yet a third of the way through the competition so we’re not home and hosed yet. But I’d say it will take a good one to beat Saff!”