Stablemates Black And Bent and Brungle Cry face off at Flemington on Saturday but the real clash between the pair will come at Bendigo eight days later.

The Robert Smerdon-trained geldings will contest a heat of the Banjo Paterson Series over 2500m at Flemington, a race that will provide the platform to their highly-anticipated first meeting over the jumps in the Brendan Drechsler Hurdle on Sunday week.

Black And Bent is an accomplished flat performer.

Over the jumps he's a record breaker.

He achieved the Australian record with a 10th successive jumps win at Sandown last month and can break the $1 million prize money barrier on Saturday with a 10th place or better.

Brungle Cry is a star young hurdler and won the Grand National in his first jumps season last year.

He has returned this season and already claimed the Galleywood at Warrnambool.

The wash-out of last Saturday's Sandown meeting, forcing the rescheduling of the Australian Hurdle to late August, forced Smerdon to pencil in a jumps clash between the pair earlier than he might have wanted.

Both horses went around in a Werribee hurdle trial earlier this week and delighted Smerdon.

"All things being equal they'll both head to Bendigo on Sunday week in good shape," the trainer said.

Leading jumps jockey Steven Pateman sticks with Black And Bent at Bendigo with Tom Ryan to ride Brungle Cry.

But first there's the Flemington race where Black And Bent is at $9 in the market while Brungle Cry is at $14.

Smerdon doubts whether it's a winnable race for either.

"I think when they are building up to their jumps racing they seem to have enough speed in their legs for flat racing," Smerdon said.

"But once they've actually had jumps runs it takes a bit of dash out of them."

Smerdon also has the equal favourite, three-year-old Cooldini, in Saturday's race on the back of his 12-length win at Sandown last start on a heavy track.

Cooldini also had a hurdle trial on Wednesday.