Fawkner has been penalised 1.5kgs for his Caulfield Cup win and will now carry 54.5kgs in the Emirates Melbourne Cup if connections decide to run. Racing Victoria chief handicapper Greg Carpenter says it's the same penalty afforded to Descarado (2010) and Master O'Reilly (2007) following their respective wins in the Caulfield Cup.

"I can announce this morning that he has been penalised 1.5kg so he will now carry 54.5kg in the 2013 Emirates Melbourne Cup," he said. "Historically it is at the lower end of the expectations, in the last 20 years, only Viewed and Dunaden have received smaller penalties.

"They got 1kg each but remember they were much higher up in the weights and apart from Fawkner, Descarado, who was a four-year-old got a 1.5kg penalty that took him to 54kg and Sky Heights back in the late 1990s also got 1.5kg, which took him to 56.5kg. So the winning margin on Saturday was a length and a quarter, from the very impressive English stayer Dandino with Dear Demi back in third place.

"Both those horses will meet Fawkner 1.5kg better for having being beaten about a length and a quarter in the Caulfield Cup.

"It is a new challenge for Fawkner, if you look at the market for the Melbourne Cup, only four out of the top 17 in betting actually ran in the Caulfield Cup, that shows it is a new challenge, Saturday was his first start beyond 2040m and he won the Caulfield Cup very strong to the line and I think he can be very competitive on the first Tuesday in November with 54.5kg."