The official racing weights have been announced for the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups, 2022.
Peter Moody’s Spanish Mission, already a familiar face formerly trained by Andrew Balding in England, tops the list on 58kg while the market leader Deauville Legend has 55kg.
Deauville Legend Given Tough Task
To put into context the task Deauville Legend has, we can compare his weight to past performers. Rekindling and Cross Counter, former winners of the races, carried 49kg and 51kg. They were both Northern Hemisphere three-year-olds, as is Deauville Legend, while former runner-up Tiger Moth carried 52.5kg.
Our favourite has been given 55kg and will need to be at his best to haul that around against this field.
There is something to note in mitigation. With no outright star at the top of the weights, all horses are essentially carrying more than they ordinarily would. That will level the playing field greatly.
Though a new handicapper has been chosen, stalwart RV handicapper Greg Carpenter had the job of releasing the weights one more time. He has given top mare Duais 55.5kg, the same as fellow mare Montefelia.
96 horses remain in contention for the Melbourne Cup, while 80 remain the Caulfield Cup. The weights for both races were announced today (Tuesday).
Selected Melbourne Cup Weights
This is what some of the highest profile Melbourne Cup contenders have been allocated by the handicapper:
1 Spanish Mission (Peter Moody) – 58kg
2 Gold Trip (Ciaron Maher & David Eustace) – 57.5kg
4 Duais (Edward Cummings) – 55.5kg
7 Montefelia (David Payne) – 55.5kg
9 Without A Fight (Simon & Ed Crisford) – 55.5kg
10 Camorra (Ben & JD Hayes) – 55kg
11 Deauville Legend (James Ferguson) – 55kg
12 Eldar Eldarov (Roger Varian) – 55kg
16 Vow And Declare (Danny O’Brien) – 54kg
18 Hoo Ya Mal (Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bolt)- 53.5kg
24 Alfred Boucher (Ian Williams) – 53kg
44 Emissary (Michael Moloney) – 51kg
96 remain in the race in total.
Is Eldar the One to Watch Now?
Hoo Ya Mal, the talking horse at $2million, may have been advantaged by not going so well in the St Leger last weekend.
He will now carry 53.5kg compared to fellow Northern Hemisphere three-year-old Deauville Legend’s 55kg. If those European three-year-olds are the ones to watch, then perhaps Eldar Eldarov is the best treated horse.
He was a Group 2 winner on his third start and the St Leger winner on his fifth. He seems to be the best of the staying North Hemisphere three-year-olds, so carrying the same weight as Deauville Legend makes him look well treated.
His other option is a race on British Champions Day at Ascot in mid-October.
These are the weights as they stand. Penalties are added for horses winning certain races between now and November 1, which we will report on.
Read more news about the Melbourne Cup.
