WAGGA sprinter Living On A Prayer will have his final lead up run before Thursday week's $85,000 Wagga Town Plate (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

Wagga trainer Dave Heywood has kept Living On A Prayer in Melbourne for the past fortnight after the five-year-old produced a strong first-up performance at Flemington.

Heywood has decided to map out a different path to this year's Town Plate after he took out the Prelude at Wagga last year before finishing 10th in the feature event.

Ironically, Living On A Prayer will meet last year's Town Plate winner Unanimously and a host of other well-performed sprinters in a hot field at Caulfield on Saturday.

Living On A Prayer was third behind Shamal Wind first-up and Heywood knows his horse will have to repeat that effort to be around the mark again on Saturday.

"He's doing terrific, everything's good but it would need to be, it's a hot field," Heywood said.

"There probably no better than the horse that beat him last start (Shamal Wind) but there is about 10 of them this time, there is a lot more depth.

"I think he's around them though, it's just a couple of the Group horses which I'm worried about."

Jye McNeil, who rode Living On A Prayer last start at Flemington, has jumped off to ride the Brian Cox-trained Sumakaray.

Fellow Victorian apprentice Harry Coffey will take the ride from barrier eight.

Heywood said everything is going well towards the Plate.

"It was a ripping run at Flemington, especially never having been that way before and he didn't really know where he was," Heywood said.

"He's been there for a fortnight now, working the Victorian way every morning so that's another positive.

"If he could finish within three or four lengths of them, I'd be rapt."

Heywood said top Sydney jockey Blake Shinn is likely to take the ride on Living On A Prayer in the Town Plate, pending the weight the horse gets.

Shinn has ridden Living On A Prayer twice before, for a win in the Town Plate Prelude and a fifth placing at Rosehill.

Meantime, former Southern District star apprentice John Kissick has been booked for the ride on Devised in the $140,000 Wagga Gold Cup (2000m).

Kissick has been on board Devised for the past two years when second, beaten a nose, on both occasions but has not ridden the horse this preparation.