Rival jockey Michael Rodd believes superstar Weekend Hussler is vulnerable due to his outside barrier in Saturday's Turnbull Stakes at Flemington.The reigning Horse of the Year, Weekend Hussler is after his eighth Group One win and his fourth win of the spring over a distance he hasn't raced at before, 2000 metres.Rodd, the regular rider of Maldivian, is hoping to be the one who causes an upset."He's vulnerable tomorrow with the barrier, the weight and the unknown. He won't be given any favours

Rival jockey Michael Rodd believes superstar Weekend Hussler is vulnerable due to his outside barrier in Saturday's Turnbull Stakes at Flemington.

The reigning Horse of the Year, Weekend Hussler is after his eighth Group One win and his fourth win of the spring over a distance he hasn't raced at before, 2000 metres.

Rodd, the regular rider of Maldivian, is hoping to be the one who causes an upset.

"He's vulnerable tomorrow with the barrier, the weight and the unknown. He won't be given any favours by the other jockeys," he said of Weekend Hussler.

Rodd wasn't giving away any hints as to what he might do on Maldivian on who he admitted he stepped up the pace too much from the 800m to the 600m when he weakened to finish fourth to Weekend Hussler in the Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield two weeks ago.

"We'll see what happens when the gates open. He's an on-pace horse but I haven't made up my mind at the moment," he said.

Ross McDonald remains super-confident about Weekend Hussler who has managed to overcome most challenges throughout his career, winning 12 of his 15 starts.

"Everything is against him tomorrow with the barrier (13), meeting some horses worse at the weights and going up to the 2000 metres for the first time, but we still expect him to come through," he said.

The Nigel Blackiston-trained Littorio meets Weekend Hussler 4.5kg better under the set-weights plus penalties conditions tomorrow for his 2-3/4 length third to him in the Underwood.

But in contrast to the odds-on favourite, he has won just once - in a Sale maiden - from 13 starts.

"He has been placed in four Group One races. Whether he can break through at that level tomorrow, time will tell," Blackiston said.

"But the fact is Weekend Hussler is the best horse around and he keeps winning.

"Our horse relaxes early and at the end can pick up very strongly. All we can hope for is that we get the right run."

The owner-trainer combination of Lloyd Williams and John Sadler will have three runners up against the champion, but Williams' son Nick wasn't predicting any of the trio - Efficient, Zipping or Extend - could topple Weekend Hussler.

"I think our three horses will run well but when you've got the modern day Manikato or Kingston Town or a combination of the two you'd be a brave man to say you could beat him," he said.

"From barrier one Extend is certainly going to go forward, but I don't know if he'll lead.

"He won over 2000 metres here last spring. He's probably a handicapper but we need to throw him into a race like this to see where he's at.

"Zipping is probably not at his best on his work but whether he heads to the Moonee Valley Cup or the Cox Plate depends on how he races tomorrow.

"I'd be happy to see Efficient finishing the race off nicely. It they get into a battle of egos and go mad early maybe he can finish over the top of them, but that is a dream of mine."