Craig Newitt says top ride needed to win Devonport Cup

But he thinks, with a little luck, the locally-trained star can repeat his 2020 triumph.

"As far as form and weight goes, he ticks a lot of boxes so he's still the one to beat," Newitt said.

"It will just take a good ride ... I've got to find a spot to slot in, then he'll do the rest."

Newitt believes a likely hot tempo should work in his favour.

"There looks to be a lot of speed in the race - I've counted about six horses that will jump and roll (forward) so I might be able to drop in behind them," he said.

"I'll have to play it by ear."

Newitt said his other concern was getting Newhart to settle.

"He was very keen the other day (when second to Gee Gee Fiorente in the Sheffield Cup)," the jockey said.

"It didn't help that he went through the gate (when it opened prematurely) before the race and got worked up.

"But I haven't ridden one that's pulled that hard for a long time ... he was entitled to weaken more than he did.

"He was on the bridle all the way and was left a sitting shot.

"Hopefully, he'll get back to his old racing pattern of relaxing and being strong late."

Newitt believes his main dangers are at the top of the weights and also drawn wide.

"I think the three top chances are Newhart, Gee Gee Fiorente (barrier 14) and Eastender (barrier 11)," he said.

"It would be a big ask for Eastender to win first-up after a bleeding attack with 63.5kg but, if any horse can do it, he can.

"I believe he's only a 50-50 chance of starting and, if I got my way, he wouldn't but at the end of the day I don't pay the bills.

"It makes me a bit anxious that he's still in the field because that means he's still a chance to run and, if he does, he'll be hard to beat."

Spreyton trainer Leanne Gaffney is in the unusual position of having the past two Devonport Cup winners among the final acceptors for Wednesday's $100,000 race.

However she expects to be down to one runner by race time.

"The owners of Eastender are keeping their options open a little bit longer as they want to see all the nominations for Friday's Tasmanian Stakes, which have been extended," Gaffney said.

"So at the moment he's still in but my preference would be to go to Launceston.

"Weight is the big thing - he has 63.5kg in the Devonport Cup and drops a fair bit in the Tasmanian Stakes which is weight-for-age."

A final decision rests with managing owner Denise Martin of Star Thoroughbreds who is inspecting yearlings in the Hunter Valley and spent most of Monday out of telephone range.

Eastender was trained by Barry Campbell when he won the 2019 Devonport Cup on his way to completing the triple crown in the Hobart and Launceston Cups.

Gaffney won the race last year with Newhart, another Star Thoroughbreds horse, who, despite drawing the outside gate, looks a top chance again.

"He will just need a bit of luck," Gaffney said.

"Otherwise I couldn't be happier with him ... he's a lot stronger this year and a lot better in his brain."

Gaffney said she didn't expect Newhart to race as keenly as he did when run down by Gee Gee Fiorente in the Sheffield Cup 16 days ago.

"The gates opened early for some reason and he got up to the winning post before Craig could pull him up," the trainer said.

"Craig thought that was the reason he got worked up - it certainly didn't help anyway."

Highly-regarded Victorian racing administrator Dale Monteith is to head the State Government's review of Tasmania's thoroughbred tracks.

His brief will be to examine track conditions and safety standards as well as maintenance and inspection procedures.

He will also lead the independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding recent race meeting cancellations and look at the responsibilities of Tasracing and the Office of Racing Integrity.

Monteith is the chairman of Harness Racing Victoria and has previously been chief executive of both the Victoria Racing Club and Melbourne Racing Club.

In 2017 he prepared a report for the Queensland Government on how they could fix the beleaguered Eagle Farm track which had been upgraded only three years earlier.

He will start his Tasmanian investigation shortly and provide recommendations to Racing Minister Jane Howlett by March.

The terms of reference include identifying the causes of the late cancellation of race meetings at Mowbray November 19 and Elwick on December 27.

Veteran pacer Star Chamber joined a very select group of horses when he won the Hobart Pacing Cup on Sunday night.

The Bianca Heenan-trained 12-year-old has now won the same race twice - six years apart.

It would be hard to find a definitive list of horses that have achieved that feat in any feature event in any state but you can bet it would be a short one.

He first won the Hobart Cup in January 2015 when it was a standing start and he came off 20m.

This year's race was a mobile and driver Dylan Ford used the sprint lane to get Star Chamber home by 1-1/2m over odds-on favourite Ryley Major.

Star Chamber has also won the Tasmania Cup, Devonport Cup, City Of Launceston Cup and numerous other feature races making him one of the best-performed horses of the modern era.