Humidor and Tosen Stardom will continue their preparations towards The Championships in Sydney when they meet in the Blamey Stakes at Flemington.
Trainer Darren Weir has the pair aimed at The Doncaster Mile and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick following Saturday’s 1600m race.
Mark Zahra takes over from Damian Lane aboard Humidor with Brad Rawiller engaged for Tosen Stardom.
The leading trainer was having difficulty finding jockeys for the two with regular stable riders Lane, John Allen and apprentice Ben Allen suspended while Rawiller finishes a ban following the Moonee Valley meeting on Friday night.
Weir says Humidor has improved his fitness since a first-up fourth behind Brave Smash and Tosen Stardom in the Futurity Stakes at Caulfield on February 24.
The runner-up to Winx in the Cox Plate last October, Humidor had a delayed start to his autumn campaign after finishing 19th in the Melbourne Cup won by Rekindling.
Weir said the gelding did not have the grounding for the Australian Cup but was on target for Saturday’s race.
He said he hadn’t seen the improvement on the training track but had noticed it in his overall condition.
“We don’t ask them too much on the track,” Weir said.
“The clock doesn’t bother me, it’s just how they are in themselves and that run has brought him on.”
A winner of the Emirates Stakes at Flemington in the spring, Tosen Stardom has had two runs this campaign.
He had a torrid run at Caulfield first-up before a closing second to his stablemate Brave Smash at Caulfield.
“He’s had a couple of good gallops since and I’m happy with the horse going into the race,” Weir said.
“The plan with both horses after Saturday is to go to The Doncaster and then back up in the Queen Elizabeth and then head up to Brisbane.”
The two are among 15 Blamey nominations with six-time Melbourne Cup winning owner Lloyd Williams nominating five including last year’s Cup quinella Rekindling and Johannes Vermeer.
He has also entered Sir Isaac Newton while his remaining two, Douglas Macarthur and Venezia Beach, are yet to race in Australia.
With the exception of Rekindling, all the Williams horses have also been nominated for the 1400m My Kitchen Rules Stakes.
