Boss was on his way back to the scales to weigh-in when he realised he was missing part of his gear.

After a fleeting moment of panic, he quickly doubled back about 25 metres to the winner's stall where he found it lying on the ground and a short time later ``correct weight'' was declared on his first Hobart Cup win.

Other than that brief hiccup, it was plain sailing for the country's most successful long-distance rider as he guided Hurdy Gurdy Man to a comfortable win over gallant opponents The Cleaner and Geegees Blackflash.

``I thought I had it won a long way out _ he was jogging on the corner,'' Boss said.

``This was his race. He'd been racing well in Victoria with much bigger weights. He was ready today _ he looked and felt good.''

Hurdy Gurdy Man started $3.80 favourite after opening at $8.50 in fixed-odds markets last week.

Trainer Darren Weir, who has now won the race four times, said the ``great prizemoney'' on offer in Tasmania was always a big lure ``but you have to find the right horse''.

``You need a good off-season stayer _ a lot of the better horses are not ready at this time of year,'' he said.

``This horse was very fit and, although he's been getting beaten at home, it makes a massive difference when you drop from 59 kilograms to 54kg.''

Weir said he would most likely press on to the Launceston Cup where Hurdy Gurdy Man would be in the running for a $100,000 Tattsbet-sponsored bonus.

``I guess we'll have a go but I'll let him get over today first and see what happens,'' the trainer said.

``He's done his job now.''

Although disappointed that The Cleaner just failed to lead all the way, Longford trainer Mick Burles was not disappointed with his horse's effort.

``He tried like he always does _ he did everything but win it,'' Burles said.

``We had 3.5kg more than the winner, which is a fair bit.''

Geegees Blackflash, chasing his second Hobart Cup in a row, momentarily looked the winner in the home straight when he loomed up to challenge The Cleaner but jockey Peter Mertens said he got anchored by his 59.5kg in the closing stages.