The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word LAST TRUMP
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
L
A
S
T
T
R
U
M
P
More clues leading to the result LAST TRUMP
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "It may win or lose a bridge contract/it might wake everybody up" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case it may win or lose a bridge contract/it might wake everybody up = last trump.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.