Verry Elleegant penalised half a kilo for Melbourne Cup
Caulfield Cup winner Verry Elleegant will need to match the deeds of Makybe Diva if she is to win next month’s Melbourne Cup after her weight penalty was handed down.
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Verry Elleegant’s Caulfield Cup win has earned her a half-kilo penalty for next month’s Melbourne Cup.
Verry Elleegant carried 55kg when beating the 2019 English Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck in Saturday’s Caulfield Cup but will carry 55.5kg in the Melbourne Cup.
The Caulfield Cup was Verry Elleegant’s sixth Group 1 win. But Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper Greg Carpenter used history to explain his decision.
Carpenter said Verry Elleegant would need to match the great Makybe Diva’s weight she carried in her second Melbourne Cup win in 2004.
“Verry Elleegant carried the second highest weight for a winning mare in Caulfield Cup history behind Tranquil Star’s 56kg in 1942 and her hard-fought victory was her sixth Group 1 race to underline her elite standing,” Carpenter said.
“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.
“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.”
Carpenter noted several of Verry Ellegant’s main Caulfield Cup rivals did not compete in the Melbourne Cup, meaning she would face a different challenge in the Melbourne Cup.
Since Makybe Diva’s third Melbourne Cup triumph in 2005, 30 mares have tackled the Melbourne Cup but none have finished in the first three.
Caulfield Cup third placegetter The Chosen One has moved to 24th in the Melbourne Cup order of entry while Finche, who was fifth in the Caulfield Cup, is now 20th in line for a start in the $8 million showpiece.
Originally published as Verry Elleegant penalised half a kilo for Melbourne Cup