Admire Rakti has been given a half kilogram penalty for the Melbourne Cup, leaving his owner with a decision to make on whether he starts his horse in the famous race.
The Caulfield Cup winner’s Melbourne Cup weight is now 58.5kg with Think Big the last horse to carry that weight to victory in 1975.
The Japanese stayer scored a narrow but impressive win in Saturday’s $3 million Caulfield Cup (2400m) under topweight of 58kg when ridden by Hong Kong-based Australian Zac Purton.
Since the introduction of the metric system in 1972, only Think Big and Makybe Diva (58kg, 2005) have carried more than 57kg to victory in the Melbourne Cup.
The penalty was announced by Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper Greg Carpenter on Monday.
Before the announcement of any Cup penalty, Admire Rakti’s owner Riichi Kondo had cast doubt over whether his horse would run in the Melbourne Cup if he received a re-handicap.
