Verry Elleegant gets half kilo Melbourne Cup penalty
Caulfield Cup winner Verry Elleegant has been handed a half kilo penalty for the Melbourne Cup, making it likely that she will line up on the first Tuesday in November to try to become the first since Ethereal in 2001 to land the double.
The Chris Waller-trained mare won the Caulfield Cup from top weight Anthony Van Dyck on Saturday in the hands of top Melbourne rider Mark Zahra, but connections had warned that if she got a hefty weight increase as a result she might bypass Australia's greatest race.
However handicapper Greg Carpenter has penalised her the minimum, the half kilo extra impost bringing her racing weight to 55.5kg.
Verry Elleegant beats Anthony Van Dyck in Saturday's Caulfield Cup. Credit:Getty Images
Carpenter said: "Saturday's Caulfield Cup was an outstanding edition of the 2400m handicap and it was fought out by two world class horses, with Verry Elleegant strong on the line and safely holding Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck.
"When we took into account her performance on Saturday, the relative weight to those placed behind her and her overall record, we felt that 0.5kg was the appropriate penalty, which equates to a length over 3200m. She will now carry 55.5kg in the Melbourne Cup.
"Only one mare has carried more weight to victory in the Melbourne Cup, which was Makybe Diva when she carried 58kg to her third win in 2005. She carried 55.5kg when winning her second Melbourne Cup – the task that has now been set for Verry Elleegant."
Since Ethereal, 13 Caulfield Cup winners have contested the Melbourne Cup a few weeks later and not one of them has finished in the first three placegetters.
And since Makybe Diva's third Melbourne Cup win in 2005, 30 mares have contested the Melbourne Cup and none have finished in the first three placegetters.
Michael Lynch is The Age's chief soccer reporter and also reports on motor sport and horseracing