Sushi Sushi’s connections confirmed on Saturday that the group 1 event would be his next target.

Anticipation of the heavyweight clash has captured the imagination of the Australasian harness racing fraternity. Ballarat and District Trotting Club chief executive officer Paul Rowse said it was a dream match-up for the $125,000 grand circuit event.

“We’ve had some wonderful Ballarat Pacing Cups over the years.

“This is going to be right up with the best, if not the best,” he said.

“Everyone (in harness racing) has been talking about the possibility of Sushi Sushi taking on Smoken Up in Ballarat.” Rowse said he was confident the clash would capture the imagination of the greater community and make this a cup to remember. Sushi Sushi is the new kid on the block.

Trained by Freddy Taiba at Sunbury and driven by Greg Sugars, he stretched his winning sequence to 16 in his first start in free-for-all company at Melton on Friday night. Sushi Sushi is being hailed as the next big thing in harness racing, while Smoken Up already has the number one mantle with 56 wins and $2.8m in earnings.

Acceptances for the cup close today. The BDTC will launch the PETstock Ballarat Pacing Cup, 2710m, with a breakfast at Bray Raceway tomorrow morning. The function will feature the declaration of the cup field and barrier draw.

Racing radio station Radio Sport National will broadcast live from the breakfast, which will feature AFL personality Billy Brownless as Harness Racing Victoria’s country cups ambassador and Smoken Up’s trainer-driver Lane Justice.