"He has been going really good and hopefully he can do it again on Sunday," Welsh said after the horse won at last week's Tamworth meeting, four days after taking out the fourth Gig heat at Armidale.

Read also:

"He got the good draw in the final [the one barrier] and has to make the best of it."

Attahua Ace had a three-metre win at Armidale over 1609m, and half-a-head win over 1980m at Tamworth.

"It is the first time that he has led in a race and he was a bit green in front," Welsh said of the Tamworth win. "But he wasn't letting any horses past him, which was good."

Welsh commenced training the Aces N Sevens-Softleigh six-year-old gelding in January and from 13 race starts he has produced three wins and three placings.

Fellow Tamworth trainer Caitlin McElhinney has drawn the three barrier with Wotnow Swanee in the final.

The IfIhadyourluck gelding won at Tamworth last week and finished third in the first Gig heat at Armidale.

Wotnow Swanee has drawn the three barrier in the final.

"It was a good win at Tamworth," McElhinney said. "Although he had me worried at the start when he galloped out.

"But he tacked on to the field good. He was just too good for them in the end."

After missing the start in his Tamworth run and sitting at the tail of the field, McElhinney sent the gelding three wide around the field as the bell sounded.

Wotnow Swanee went on for a 2.7m win over Write Time (Jemma Coney), with Dark Side (Courtney Sutherland) a further 2.4m away in third place.

"At Armidale he got attacked the whole race and didn't get a breather," McElhinney said. "But he should be fitter for the final."

Armidale trainer Les Enks has qualified two runners for the final. Groovy Shannon has drawn the two barrier, while stablemate Neville Shannon has drawn the 11 barrier.

The Tony Missen-trained My Kinda Justus, who won the second Gig heat, has drawn the five barrier in the final.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: