The lure of a ticket into the $3 million Big Dance for talented galloper Akasawa has drawn Paul Messara to Sunday’s $40,000 Mannion Drilling Gunnedah Cup (1600m) – and the trainer has his fingers crossed it’s the right call.

The Riverina city of Wagga will come alive next weekend when celebrations commence for 150 years of the Wagga Gold Cup.

An in-depth look at the chances of every runner in the $500,000 Newhaven Park Country Championships Final (1400m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Paul Messara is quietly confident he has the right horse in Akasawa to claim the Newhaven Park Country Championships Final after the five-year-old enhanced his already strong record at Tamworth on Sunday.

Arrowfield Stud's smart four-year-old Akasawa ($1.95 favourite on TAB) resumes from a nine-month spell at Newcastle Jockey Club's meeting on the Beaumont Track on Monday and he is the most interesting runner on the day.