Daniel Stackhouse has replaced Barend Vorster aboard Classic Weiwei in the $250,000 Hobart Cup (2400m) on Sunday.
Tony and Calvin McEvoy are hoping the former promising thee-year-old can carry his solid Victorian form across the Tasman for the Group 3 feature.
A Port Adelaide Guineas winner in his three-year-old season, Classic Weiwei turned around some disappointing SA form to win at Caulfield at big odds on January 2 before another solid effort there, running fourth behind Long Arm there last weekend.
Calvin McEvoy said the horse had enjoyed the move from SA to their new stables at Ballarat.
“He’s absolutely loving it, he’s in career best form,” Calvin McEvoy said.
“His win was a surprise to me. Dad was quite confident, but looking at his form after getting beaten at Penola threw me off a little bit.
“I think he’d been in races starved of tempo.”
Calvin said the horse would appreciate getting down in the weight and having a good barrier after having no luck last weekend.
“I thought his run last week was really gallant after getting caught wide,” Calvin said.
“He was entitled to not stick on like he did and he came through the run really well.
“He travelled over really well and was straight into his feed bin when he got there on Friday.”
The decision to head to Tasmania came on the back of a form reversal after the stable had initially considered heading to Queensland. Calvin didn’t rule out a return home for the Adelaide Cup.
“We know he’s effective at the trip,” he said.
“We’d considered going to Queensland for the Magic Millions mile and a half, but that all came up a little quick.
“But after running well last week we elected to go to Tasmania. The Adelaide Cup could be a possibility but we’re just taking it one step at a time.”
Victorian horseman Archie Alexander scratched Barade from Saturday’s Birthday Cup at Morphettville in preference to the Hobart Cup and he will have to overcome a tricky gate drawn out in barrier 13, while former Adelaide galloper Super Swoop will jump from barrier two for local horseman John Blacker.
Super Swoop will also run in the Hobart Cup. He has won two (placed two) of five starts since he was purchased from the Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas stable with the Tasmanian Cup features in mind.
Another interesting runner is Eastender, who won the Devonport, Hobart and Launceston Cups in 2019 and was set to run favourite in the 2019 Adelaide Cup before his shock race-day scratching after he was found being treated on race morning.
When trainer Barry Campbell was disqualified by SA stewards the horse joined Chris Waller in Sydney and ran second in last year’s Parramatta Cup at Rosehill over 1900m before returning to Tasmania and joining Leanne Gaffney late last year.