The opportunity to ride a leading contender in the Group One Stradbroke Handicap is worth the effort for Dom Tourneur who is pushing himself to ride at 51kg at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

On Monday, Tourneur had just over 1.5kg to shed to get down to his lightest weight in years to continue his association with the Phillip Stokes-trained Hucklebuck in Queensland's signature race.

"It's a bit of a challenge but I'm slowly chipping away at it," Tourneur said.

"I have been doing it for the last three weeks and by the time of the race I would have been working on it for a month.

"I've got just over a kilo and a half to go, so it's not bad at the moment considering."

Adelaide-based Tourneur's exercise schedule includes about 10km of jogging and walking a day as well as some skipping and work in the home gym.

His daily food intake is three small meals.

"He's going to be as good a chance as any, so it's something you wouldn't want to give up, put it that way," Tourneur said.

Hucklebuck raced keenly first-up from a let-up in the Fred Best Classic at Doomben to finish fourth after leading.

Tourneur expected Hucklebuck to take improvement out of that race.

Connections opted to bypass Saturday's Group Two Queensland Guineas with the gelding after discovering he was safely in the field for Saturday's $1.38 million Stradbroke (1400m).

"The owner was keen to run second-up in the Stradbroke due to his second-up record," Tourneur said.

Hucklebuck is unbeaten in two second-up starts including the Group Three CS Hayes Stakes (1400m) at Flemington in February.

He is on the third line of Stradbroke betting behind three-year-old filly Srikandi and Group One winner Rebel Dane.

Hucklebuck's only Group One start was in the Australian Guineas (1600m) when he finished eighth as favourite.

"He's yet to prove that he's a Group One horse. But with the light weight that he's going to have, with his second-up record, and hopefully he draws a good barrier, he should acquit himself well," Tourneur said.