Reigning Australian Horse Of The Year Via Sistina and Irish St Leger hero Al Riffa have been handed the top weights for this year’s Melbourne Cup.
On Tuesday, Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper David Hegan announced the official handicaps for both the Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 4 at Flemington and the Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 18.
Via Sistina and Al Riffa have each been allocated 59kg for the Melbourne Cup, with Buckaroo and Light Infantry Man also allotted 59kg at the top of the Caulfield Cup weights.
As neither Via Sistina nor Al Riffa are entered for the Caulfield Cup, a 2kg increase was required to comply with the updated weight rules for that contest.
Hegan outlined that following discussions with clubs and stakeholders, this year’s initial minimum topweight was set at 59kg with a minimum bottom weight of 51kg. At acceptance stage, the topweight must be at least 57kg, with the scale adjusted accordingly.
Via Sistina’s dominant Cox Plate victory last year ensured her position as the natural topweight, while Al Riffa’s recent Irish St Leger triumph confirmed his 59kg impost.
“Her class is indisputable. If I was weighting the Cup on one run, she would be outright topweight,” Hegan said of Via Sistina.
Defending Melbourne Cup champion Knight’s Choice rises to 55kg this spring, up from the 51.5kg he carried to victory last year, effectively an increase of 2.5kg after adjustments.
Vauban, who finished 14th in 2023 and 11th in 2024, has been assigned 56.5kg, while former stablemate Absurde, who has run seventh and fifth in the past two Cups, remains on 53.5kg.
Aeliana and Treasurethe Moment posed challenges for handicappers, with Aeliana allocated 53kg and Treasurethe Moment 54kg for the Melbourne Cup.
“As three-year-olds, Aeliana was the leading rated stayer in the country across the Australian Classifications Panel and internationally when it comes to performance ratings,” Hegan said.
“Since we’ve seen them resume this spring, Treasurethe Moment is clearly the more high-rated horse, but still very hard to assess against open age company and open age horses with 2400-metre and 3200-metre form.
Aeliana was too good for the boys winning by five lengths (ATC Australian Derby) and they’ve both got 2400-metre form and weight-for-age form which is rare for three-year-old fillies.
For a guide last year Zardozi had 51 kilos (when fourth last year), so Aeliana has 53 and Treasurethe Moment 54, which places them ahead of where Zardozi was last year.”
Horses already qualified for Cup berths include Parchment Party (52kg), Deakin (52kg), Revelare (51.5kg) and Basilinna (51kg), all winners of ‘win and you’re in’ races.
Buckaroo and Light Infantry Man top the Caulfield Cup weights, with Buckaroo set to carry 57kg in the Melbourne Cup.
Quarantined for the Caulfield Cup are Presage Nocturne (57.5kg), Meydaan (56kg), Absurde (55.5kg) and Golden Snap (53.5kg), all of which will carry 2kg less in the Melbourne Cup. They arrive in Melbourne on September 28 alongside Onesmoothoperator (52kg), who is targeting the Geelong Cup en route to the Melbourne Cup.
All international contenders must enter quarantine on September 28 before arriving in Melbourne on October 14 to prepare for the Melbourne Cup.
Punters eager to bet on the Melbourne Cup can access the best odds and markets through Australia’s top betting sites.
