Costa will bring Madis Mate and Riley James back to the region to contest the $15,000 NSW Breeders Challenge heat (2165m).

Wagga’s heat of the lurcrative series has attracted strong interest from both sides of the border, with five of the eight-horse field last start winners, and Lenmac is the only horse not to taste success in its last four starts.

Group one placed Sporty Spook should start as an odds-on favourite, but Costa is confident the trip won’t be for nothing.

“The go quite good,” Costa said. “The race is strong but you expect that sort of class in those sort of races.

“I wouldn’t be coming if we didn’t figure somewhere to at least pay for the fuel.”

Madis Mate had drawn barrier three for the heat and will link with back with reinsman Bruce Harpley.

Harpley bred the gelding and was his trainer-driver for his first five races, picking up two wins and two placings.

The son of Sutter Hanover has only finished worse than fourth in one of his 16 starts, and that was in a heat of the Victoria Derby, but hasn’t won in his last three starts.

However Costa hasn’t been too disappointed in each of the runs.

“Our horse was a little disappointing when he run fourth, but he was a bit short of a run as before that his form was very strong,” Costa said.

“He run second in a the Northern Region Championship series, he won his heat, second in another heat and then second in the final in track record time at Ouyen and that race isn’t an easy race to win.

“He was three wide for most of the race and only got beat three metres then as a three-year-old tackling that type of race and aged horses I thought I’d give him a month off and he did just a little too good for us and at Swan Hill he didn’t go as good.

“But we’ve worked on him a bit and he’s a little fitter now.”

Riley James is a newer acquistion for the Costa stable, after being purchased off Athol White in January.

However he’s quickly found his heat with three wins from six starts for Costa, including two wins at Swan Hill coming into the heat.

Drawing barrier nine Costa’s good friend Shane Hallcroft will take the reins.

”He’s a very good horse on the way up and all he does is love to try,” Costa said. “He’ll try all day and he’s very fast.

“In his first start here he went ten tenths outside the overall track record for a mile and hard held.

“Michael Bellman is my usual driver and I think if he had let him go I think he would have smashed the track record by a second or more.”

Sporty Spook won at Canberra last week, and depsite drawing barrier six will be hard to beat.

He won a heat of the Canberra Cup and will tackle the other heat winner Spare Me Days who made it three on the trot for Goulburn trainer Brad Hewitt.