Nature Strip will have to lump a weight not carried to Newmarket Handicap victory in more than 60 years if he is to win the $1.5 million Group 1 at Flemington on March 12.
The seven-time Group 1 winner and narrow last-start runner-up in the Black Caviar Lightning was allocated 59.5kg when Racing Victoria released weights for the 1200m sprint on Tuesday afternoon.
A horse hasn’t been successful under such an impost since 1959 when Gold Stakes won with 9 stone 6 pounds, which is the equivalent of 59.9kg.
The heaviest weight carried to victory in the Newmarket, which was first run in 1874, is 10 stone 2 (64.4kg) by Greenline in 1930.
A horse hasn’t started in a Newmarket Handicap under at least 59.5kg since Mahogany finished fourth behind Ruffles with that weight in 1997.
The most carried to victory in the metric era (post 1972) is 58.5kg, which Hay List lumped to his narrow win over Buffering in 2012.
If Nature Strip starts, he will carry four kilograms more than stablemate and Black Caviar Lightning conqueror Home Affairs, who has 55.5kg.
The metric record for a three-year-old is 56kg, which was carried to victory by Weekend Hussler in 2008.
The only horse between the Chris Waller-trained pair in the weights is Masked Crusader, who has 56.5kg, while Lost And Running will also carry 55.5kg.
