Horse to carry a whopping 74.5kg

Metropolitan winner turned bush horse Payback will this weekend step out in benchmark 50 company at Charleville in regional Queensland, the 6-year-old Sequalo gelding making the Jarryd Hayne themed memes of dreaming of winning the Melbourne Cup seem more realistic, as he will carry the mass of a light-weight footballer.

It comes just weeks after Olivia Cairns-trained Stellar Knight saluted at Emerald with a 69.5 kg set weight, the 4 kg apprentice claim providing enough relief for the Mackay-based galloper to score with 65.5 kg nonetheless.

The extra 9kg on that is in a different ballpark all together for the Todd Austin-trained Payback, a win at this weight perhaps entering the record books, an astounding achievement in modern thoroughbred racing regardless.

Fading to just miss a place in benchmark 75 company at a TAB meet at Kilcoy just 2 starts back, jockey-turned-trainer Todd Austin’s galloper will enjoy a huge drop in class but in an uncanny twist, the 3 time Gold Coast winner is in fact quite accustomed to carrying such weights.

Payback carried the weight of the grandstand when winning at Birdsville in September 2017, lumping 69 kg in benchmark 55 company and much like this time around, dropped back from benchmark 80 company just 2 starts prior. A strong front running type, the 6-year-old gelding has an impressive record of 8 wins from 22 starts, amassing almost 100k in prize money.

With things currently heating up in the country racing circuit in Queensland, the winner of race 4 at Charleville will be seen at Doomben on Tattersall’s Tiara day.