Geelong Cup winner Point Of Law has been re-handicapped from 51kg to 53kg for the Melbourne Cup, but he remains well weighted against weight-for-age.
Geelong Cup winner Point Of Law will carry 53kg in the Melbourne Cup after Racing Victoria's head of handicapping, David Hegan, gave him a 2kg penalty on Thursday.
The Ciaron Maher-trained gelding was on the 51kg minimum before his Geelong win on Wednesday. The victory made him ballot-exempt for the Cup on Tuesday 3 November, and the market made him favourite.
Still on a light weight
The rise is a little bigger than it looks. Point Of Law's real rating was 50.5kg, so he has gone up 2.5kg against the weight-for-age scale. Even so, 53kg leaves him 3.5kg under weight-for-age.
For comparison:
- His 53kg is the equivalent of an older male carrying 56kg, the same as Caulfield Cup third Enfjaar.
- He is half a kilo under James J Braddock, who has 53.5kg.
Hegan said he could only handicap the horse on what he has done so far, not on potential, while noting he could well improve on the Geelong run.
Out of the Gold Cup
With his Cup start secure, Point Of Law was scratched from Saturday's Moonee Valley Gold Cup at Flemington.
The two O'Brien horses that chased him home at Geelong are in a different spot. Small Fry and Omni Man have cleared the first elimination but sit 42nd and 44th in the order of entry, so both need horses above them to drop out. Omni Man has also been scratched from the Gold Cup.
The punting angle
Even after the rise, Point Of Law is still light for a horse with a Group 3 win at 2615m in England. The questions are more about how he handles the 3200m and a big, tough Cup field, as Geelong was only his fifth career start. He raced keenly early at Geelong, so watch how he settles if he gets a hard draw on Cup day.
Third declarations close on Monday 26 October, and our Melbourne Cup horse profiles will be updated after that.
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