A trip to Hastings this weekend will signal Ready Eddie’s final jumping appearance before he heads south for his main winter target.

The Awapuni eight-year-old has Saturday’s Te Whangai Romneys Hawke’s Bay Hurdles in his sights and following a solid effort at his previous appearance he is expected to give a strong account of himself.

Ready Eddie finished sixth in the Waikato Hurdles before a solid last-start effort for second behind Raisafuasho in the K. B. Hurdles at Ellerslie.

“We didn’t really know how he would handle the track there, but he tried very hard and kept grinding away,” trainer Laura Knight said.

“He doesn’t like the deep tracks so Hawke’s Bay should suit him nicely.”

Ready Eddie suffered a set-back on the way home from Auckland, but he quickly bounced back.

“He went a bit silly in the truck and had to have a couple of days off,” Knight said. “He’s fine now though.”

Ready Eddie was a brave third in last year’s Grand National Hurdles after making a poor jump at the final flight and he’s again bound for the Riccarton feature.

“If everything goes well and he gets home safe and sound from Hastings then the National will be the aim again,” Knight said.

“I’ll probably just give him a run on the flat somewhere before we head down there.”

The winner of three hurdle races and one on the flat, Ready Eddie is part-owned by Knight with her father Gary, a former All Black prop.