Juja Kibo is now a stronger Melbourne Cup contender after receiving a rehandicap adjustment following its commanding victory in The Metropolitan last Saturday.

Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper, David Hegan, imposed a 2kg penalty on the Ciaron Maher-trained stayer for the $10 million event, acknowledging its dominant 1-3/4-length win over Aethelwulf at Randwick in the 2400-metre race, where it carried 56.5kg.

This updated weight of 53.5kg for the Melbourne Cup places Juja Kibo at 34th in the order of entry, with the final field restricted to 24 runners.

Juja Kibo also incurred a 1kg penalty for the Caulfield Cup, a reflection of the different weight scales for this year’s major spring features.

“Juja Kibo’s Metropolitan performance was worthy of a handicap reconsideration after strongly defeating several key Cups rivals in impressive fashion and thus he advances 2kg in both races against both the weight for age scale and a number of runners from Saturday,” Hegan stated.

He continued, “Due to the different weight scales in the Cups, he takes a 1kg penalty in the Caulfield Cup and a 2kg penalty in the Melbourne Cup.”

“In the Caulfield Cup, he moves from a true weight of 50kg to 52kg, which is an actual weight penalty of 1kg above the minimum, and he will now carry 52kg.”

“In the Melbourne Cup he rises from 51.5kg to 53.5kg which puts him 0.5kg below The Euphrates, who conceded him 2.5kg on Saturday when finishing third.”

“Juja Kibo progresses significantly in the order of entry for both races, climbing 11 places to 30th in the Caulfield Cup and 12 places to 34th in the Melbourne Cup.”

Mr Monaco, another stayer under Maher’s care, also had his Melbourne Cup weight adjusted, now set to carry 52.5kg in the 3200m Group 1 event on November 3.

This represents a 1.5kg penalty for the imported son of Territories, who gained ballot exemption for the Melbourne Cup with his strong win in The Bart Cummings (2520m) last Saturday.

“Mr Monaco was previously weighted in the Melbourne Cup at 1.5kg below fellow competitor Valiant King who ran third in the Bart Cummings, but now meets him on level terms with that 1.5kg increase,” Hegan commented.

Mr Monaco’s Caulfield Cup weight remains unchanged at 51kg, placing him 33rd in the updated order of entry following the weekend’s racing. You can find the best online bookmakers to bet on these upcoming feature races.