Dual Melbourne Cup champion Half Yours faces a significant challenge if aiming for another victory in the prestigious race.
The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained stayer has been assigned 59kg for this year’s Melbourne Cup, a substantial increase of 6kg from the weight he carried to victory 12 months prior.
Half Yours carried 52.5kg in the Caulfield Cup, and now rises to 57.5kg in that race, where Sir Delius has been allocated the topweight of 59kg.
This year’s Cups, following discussions with industry stakeholders after last year’s events, now feature a minimum weight of 51kg, a 1kg rise from the previous year.
This 1kg increase also mandates a minimum topweight of 59kg when the weights are initially released.
While Sir Delius was the obvious choice for topweight in the Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 17, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained galloper was not nominated for the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 3.
Consequently, the Melbourne Cup weights had to be adjusted upwards by 1.5kg to meet the 59kg minimum topweight requirement.
“Sir Delius, a three-time Group 1 winner, stands out as the best performed horse and natural topweight for this year’s Caulfield Cup, however his absence from the Melbourne Cup has necessitated two different sets of weights,” stated David Hegan, Racing Victoria’s Head of Handicapping.
“Last year saw the introduction of a 1kg overall increase to the weight structure of both races where topweights must be assigned 59kg at the release of weights and the minimum weight for older horses is 51kg.
“Half Yours was the dominant Caulfield and Melbourne Cup champion in 2025 and has been weighted accordingly. He effectively rises 4.5kg from his Melbourne Cup performance before the additional 1.5kg was applied to ensure a 59kg topweight.”
“That increase applies to all Melbourne Cup entrants above the minimum weight.”
Hegan noted that Highwayman, a recent winner of the English St Leger, was among the more intriguing contenders in the handicap.
In achieving the same rating as the 2024 winner Jan Brueghel, Highwayman has been allocated a weight of 56.5kg under the revised scale.
Last year’s Melbourne Cup runner-up, Goodie Two Shoes, will now carry 55kg, an increase from the 51.5kg she bore in the previous year’s Cup.
Goodie Two Shoes is one of 11 entries from dual Cups-winning trainer Joseph O’Brien, who also has Sons And Lovers (57.5kg) and Defiantly (56.5kg) carrying significant weights.
Aeliana has been allocated 58kg for the Melbourne Cup and would have been the topweight, but for the 2kg weight-for-age allowance granted to mares.
The current favourite for the Caulfield Cup, Green Spaces, has been assigned 54.5kg following his victory in the Australian Derby at Randwick during the autumn. This is the same weight allocated to Enfjaar and Wine Dark Sea, both recent Group 3 winners in Europe.
You can find the latest racing odds for these major races at Australian betting sites.
