Double Melbourne Cup victor Half Yours faces a significant hurdle in his quest for another win in the famous race.
The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained stayer has been allocated 59kg for this year’s Melbourne Cup, a notable 6kg rise from his winning weight 12 months ago.
Half Yours carried 52.5kg in the Caulfield Cup, and his weight for that race has now climbed to 57.5kg, with Sir Delius designated as the topweight at 59kg.
This year’s Cups, after consultations with industry groups following last year’s events, have introduced a minimum weight of 51kg, a 1kg increase from the previous year.
This 1kg rise also means that a 59kg minimum topweight is now required when weights are first published.
While Sir Delius was the natural topweight for the Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 17, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained galloper was not entered for the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 3.
This circumstance necessitated an increase of 1.5kg to the Melbourne Cup weights to reach the 59kg minimum topweight.
“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 mentioned that Highwayman, who recently won the English St Leger, was one of the more interesting acceptors in the handicap.
By achieving the same rating as the 2024 winner Jan Brueghel, Highwayman has been assigned 56.5kg under the new weight scale.
Last year’s Melbourne Cup runner-up, Goodie Two Shoes, will now carry 55kg, an increase from the 51.5kg she carried in the previous year’s Cup.
Joseph O’Brien, a trainer with two Cup victories, has 11 entries for the Cup, including Sons And Lovers (57.5kg) and Defiantly (56.5kg), who are carrying substantial weights.
Aeliana has been allocated 58kg for the Melbourne Cup and would have been the topweight, had she not been granted the 2kg weight-for-age allowance for mares.
The current favourite for the Caulfield Cup, Green Spaces, has been allocated 54.5kg following his Australian Derby victory at Randwick in the autumn, the same weight as European Group 3 winners Enfjaar and Wine Dark Sea.
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