Juja Kibo has edged closer to a Melbourne Cup start following a handicapping reassessment after its commanding win in The Metropolitan last Saturday.
The Ciaron Maher-trained stayer was handed a 2kg penalty by Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper David Hegan for the $10 million event, in recognition of its dominant 1-3/4-length victory over Aethelwulf in the 2400-metre Randwick race, carrying 56.5kg.
This revised weight for the 2026 Melbourne Cup now stands at 53.5kg, positioning Juja Kibo 34th in the order of entry for the 24-horse field.
A 1kg penalty was also applied to Juja Kibo for the Caulfield Cup, accounting for the different weight scales of the 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 elaborated, “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 trained by Maher, also had his Melbourne Cup weight updated, now slated to carry 52.5kg in the 3200m Group 1 race on November 3.
This adjustment signifies a 1.5kg penalty for the imported son of Territories, who is already exempt from the Melbourne Cup ballot following 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 remarked.
Mr Monaco’s Caulfield Cup weight remains unchanged at 51kg, placing him 33rd in the updated order of entry after the weekend’s racing. Check out the latest Australian betting sites for all the Cup action.
