Point Of Law earns Lexus Melbourne Cup penalty

The Ciaron Maher-trained Point Of Law has been issued a weight penalty for the $10.2 million Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) after sustaining high pressure throughout his spectacular win in yesterday’s Group 3 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup (2400m).

The win saw Point Of Law secure his trainer a maiden Geelong Cup trophy and the third last golden ticket into the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, 3 November at Flemington.

The northern hemisphere-bred three-year-old outstayed his rivals with a tough on pace victory, with the strength of his win seeing Racing Victoria Head of Handicapping David Hegan today issue Point Of Law a 2kg penalty. Previously weighted on the minimum of 51kg, his new Melbourne Cup weight is 53kg.

“Point Of Law’s strong display of sustained on pace running left his rivals off the bit and chasing from the 600m, opening up a gap that couldn’t be closed,” Hegan said.

“He had been a difficult horse to assess with only four career starts, all at three-year-old level, prior to the Geelong Cup, but the nature of his strong win against older horses with exposed form dictated that a meaningful weight reassessment was required heading towards the Melbourne Cup.

“The reassessment was actually a 2.5kg increase against the weight for age scale, with the horse’s true weight previously sitting at 6kg below his weight for age benchmark at 50.5kg.

“His new weight of 53kg means he now sits at 3.5kg below weight for age, which is the equivalent of an older male horse at 56kg such as Enfjaar, who ran an excellent third in the Sportsbet Caulfield Cup on Saturday. He also moves to 0.5kg below fellow northern hemisphere three-year-old and Epsom Derby placegetter James J Braddock who has 53.5kg.”

Hegan further noted that Point Of Law, as a three-year-old with only five career starts, could still have significant upside.

“I can’t handicap Point Of Law on potential, only on what he has done to date. Having performed yesterday against older horses, I now have a better measurement of his ability and so he moves to 53kg in the weight scale. He may well improve off that run next time out, but only time will tell.”

The Joseph O’Brien-trained pair Small Fry and Omni Man, who ran second and third respectively in the Geelong Cup, have now both passed the first Melbourne Cup elimination clause.

They are now 42nd and 44th respectively in the order to gain a start and require a number of horses ahead of them to not accept at the third stage of declarations this Monday, 26 October at 10am.

The final two Melbourne Cup golden ticket races take place this Saturday at Flemington with the running of the Ladbrokes Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m) and Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m).

The majority of the Moonee Valley Gold Cup field are competing for a guaranteed start in the Melbourne Cup, but the connections of Mr Monaco can rest easy knowing he has his golden ticket courtesy of a last start win in The Bart Cummings (2500m) over the same track and distance.

Likewise, in the Cox Plate, a golden ticket will not be required for Aeliana, Birdman, Middle Earth or Saint George who all sit comfortably inside the top 24 in the Melbourne Cup order of entry. Of the remaining Cox Plate runners, only Ciaron Maher’s Land Legend remains in Melbourne Cup contention and he sits just outside at 26th in the updated order of entry.

Three horses have been withdrawn from the Melbourne Cup entries over the past 24 hours with defending champion Half Yours and Green Spaces to be spelled, while Treasurethe Moment is poised to target other races in the coming weeks.

To view the updated Lexus Melbourne Cup order of entry, please click here.