Cox Plate placegetter Highland Reel and Ascot Gold Cup winner Order of St George are the equal top weights for October’s Caulfield Cup (2400m).
Our Ivanhowe has 56kg in the 2016 Caulfield Cup weights. Photo: Darryl Sherer
The Aidan O’Brien-trained duo’s performances earned them 58kg handicaps when the weights were released on Wednesday.
Order Of St George is a dual Group I winner, having taken out last year’s Irish St Leger, while Highland Reel has added victories in the Group I Hong Kong Vase (2400m) and the Group King George VI Stakes (10f) since his Cox Plate third to Winx in October last year.
“In recent years we have seen the better performed horses come to the fore in the BMW Caulfield Cup, with two of the past four renewals won by a horse carrying the top weight of 58kg in the international entrants Dunaden (2012) and Admire Rakti (2014),” Racing Victoria’s executive general manager of racing Carpenter said in a statement.
Preferment and Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance are next in the weights at 56.5kg, half a kilogram ahead of French-trained Erupt and Our Ivanhowe, who was third in last year’s Caulfield Cup, on 56kg.
Tarzino is a $13 favourite in Sportsbet’s market on the Caulfield Cup. The Mick Price-trained four-year-old has 54kg after his wins in the Victoria Derby and Rosehill Guineas as a three-year-old while the Australian Derby winner Tavago has the same weight.
“Tarzino is aiming to emulate the likes of Elvstroem (2004), Manfred (1925) and Poseidon (1906) by winning the Caulfield Cup the season after taking out the Victoria Derby,” Carpenter said. “Tavago looks to retrace the path Mongolian Khan took in 2015 by winning the ATC Derby-Caulfield Cup double.”
The O’Brien-trained Idaho (53kg) is exempt from the Caulfield Cup ballot after his victory in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York on August 17 while five-year-old Exosphere, from the Sir Michael Stoute yard, is also assured of a run courtesy of his win in the Jockey Club Stakes (12f) at Newmarket in April.
Locally-trained galloper Berisha (50kg) is also guaranteed a Caulfield Cup start after his success in the Mornington Cup (2400m) in April.
Click here for the weights for the 2016 Caulfield Cup, which will be run on October 15.
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