The impressive winner of the Geelong Cup, Point Of Law, has seen his assigned weight for the Melbourne Cup elevated by 2kg.

David Hegan, Racing Victoria’s handicapper, announced the penalty on Thursday following the Ciaron Maher-trained galloper’s victory over 2400m at Geelong on Wednesday.

Initially allocated the minimum weight of 51kg for the prestigious Melbourne Cup, Point Of Law will now carry 53kg, as confirmed by Thursday’s announcement of the Cup penalty.

“Point Of Law’s strong display of sustained on pace running left his rivals off the bit and chasing from the 600 metres, opening up a gap that couldn’t be closed,” Hegan stated.

“He had been a difficult horse to assess with only four career starts, all at three-year-old level, prior to the Geelong Cup, but the nature of his strong win against older horses with exposed form dictated that a meaningful weight reassessment was required heading towards the Melbourne Cup.”

Hegan further elaborated on the reassessment, noting, “The reassessment was actually a 2.5kg increase against the weight for age scale, with the horse’s true weight previously sitting at 6kg below his weight for age benchmark at 50.5kg.”

“His new weight of 53kg means he now sits at 3.5kg below weight for age, which is the equivalent of an older male horse at 56kg such as Enfjaar, who ran an excellent third in the Sportsbet Caulfield Cup on Saturday.”

He also mentioned, “He also moves to 0.5kg below fellow northern hemisphere three-year-old and Epsom Derby placegetter James J Braddock who has 53.5kg.”

Hegan also pointed out that with only five starts to his name, Point Of Law still has room for improvement.

“I can’t handicap Point Of Law on potential, only on what he has done to date,” Hegan said.

“Having performed yesterday against older horses, I now have a better measurement of his ability and so he moves to 53kg in the weight scale.

“He may well improve off that run next time out, but only time will tell.”

The Moonee Valley Cup and the Cox Plate, both scheduled for Flemington on Saturday, represent the final opportunities to secure ‘Golden Tickets’ into the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 3.

Punters looking to get involved can explore the latest Australian betting sites for the upcoming feature races.