Leading Victorian trainer Darren Weir has two of the top four horses in the betting for the 2018 Group 3 $250,000 Sky Racing Launceston Cup (2400m) at Launceston today.

The Weir trained Andrea Mantegna has a narrow lead at the top of the market order at $4.60 with Ladbrokes.com.au while stablemate Bondeiger is on the fourth line of betting at $7.

Sandwiched in between the two Weir runners is rival Victorian stayer Berisha at $4.80 and Hobart Cup winner Pretty Punk at $5.

Andrea Mantegna will jump from barrier nine with Damian Lane in the saddle again after being aboard last start for a second to Pretty Punk in the Group 3 $250,000 Sky Racing Hobart Cup (2400m) at Hobart on February 11.

Regan Bayliss will give Bondeiger the run of the race from barrier three and the six year old is chasing a hat trick after a win in a 2500m BenchMark 78 Handicap at The Valley followed by a win in a 2400m BenchMark 82 Handicap at Morphettville Parks in Adelaide.

Ben Allen steered the Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas trained Pretty Punk to victory in the Hobart Cup and gets the mount again in the Launceston Cup.

Pretty Punk will jump from barrier two while Mark Zahra will be looking for some cover midfield on the John Sadler trained Berisha who will jump out of gate ten.

Berisha hasn’t won a race since taking out the 2016 Listed $300,000 Mornington Cup (2400m) at Mornington but Sadler’s travelling foreman Ernie Marchant said that the injury plagued six year old was ready to break the drought.

“The horse travelled over really well and ate everything in his feed bin from the moment he arrived at his yard at Bill Ryan’s stables here in Longford,” Marchant told the Tasracing News Desk.

“This horse is clearly the class runner in the field and John (Sadler) was extremely happy with his run in the Colac Cup with such a big weight and now that he has travelled so well to Tasmania we are very confident he can run a huge race on Wednesday.”

The Barry Campbell trained Eastender (barrier 5) is the best chance the locals have of keeping the Launceston Cup winning trophy in Tasmania and is marked at $9 in the betting, coming off a last start  seventh to Pretty Punk in the Hobart Cup for Craig Newitt.

Newitt rides again today and the pair have combined for two wins from their last four starts, the latest win being two runs back in a 2100m Handicap at Hobart on January 12.