The Aidan O’Brien-trained duo of Highland Reel and Order Of St George have been allocated the equal 58kg top weight for the Caulfield Cup 2016 with handicaps released by Racing Victoria this week.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained Irish galloper Highland Reel is one of two 58kg equal top weights for the 2016 Caulfield Cup. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Irish horseman O’Brien has a dozen nominees for this season’s $3 million Group 1 BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m), the lucrative mile and a half handicap running at Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday October 15.

Of his contingent of stayers two are charged with carrying the heaviest impost if accepted with Racing Victoria’s chief handicap Greg Carpenter releasing Caulfield Cup weights on Tuesday.

2016 Caulfield Cup Weights

• Top Weights: Order Of St George (58kg) and Highland Reel (58kg)
• Followed by: Preferment (56.5kg) and Prince Of Penzance (56.5kg)
• Key 4YO Weights: Tarzino (54kg), Tavago (54kg), Jameka (51.5kg), Sofia Rosa (51kg), Provocative (50.5kg)
• Notable Local Weights: The United States (55.5kg), Hartnell (55kg), Rising Romance (52.5kg), Alpine Eagle (52.5kg)
• Notable International Weights: Bondi Beach (55kg), Exosphere (55kg), Scottish (54.5kg), Idaho (53kg), Articus (52.5kg)

Galileo stallion Highland Reel is best known by Australian race fans for his third behind super mare Winx in the $3 million Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) last Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

He has subsequently won the Hong Kong Vase and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and is nominated for both the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate in 2016.

Bookmakers down under are taking no chances with Highland Reel in all-in Caulfield Cup odds, Ladbrokes.com.au paying $17 for him to win.

Order Of St George meanwhile is at $31 in the latest Caulfield Cup betting markets and is also the $13 early favourite to take out the $6 million Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m).

Part-owned by goliath Australian racehorse owner and businessman Lloyd Williams, Order Of St George was last seen winning the Group 3 Irish St Leger Trial (2816m) a fortnight ago that followed his Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup (4000m) success from June.

The dour stayer is easing in futures Spring Cups markets in Melbourne however with his heavy Caulfield Cup weight likely to seen connections opt not to bring him to Australia.

Other notable Caulfield Cup weights for O’Brien’s entries include Bondi Beach (55kg), Idaho (53kg) and Housesofparliment (50kg) who also all featured in this week’s 2016 Melbourne Cup nominations.

The only other runners allocated more than 56kg by Carpenter this year are the Chris Waller-trained Preferment (56.5kg) who won the Australian Cup – The BMW double in the autumn and Darren Weir’s reigning Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance (56.5kg).

Last year’s Caulfield Cup placegetters Trip To Paris and Our Ivanhowe are allocated 55kg and 56kg respectively for their 2016 bid.

Ed Dunlop’s British raider Trip To Paris carried the same weight for his second to the since-retired Mongolian Khan in last year’s Caulfield Cup quinella and was last seen running fourth to Quest For More at York in the Group 2 Lonsdale Cup (3319m) on August 19.

The Lee & Anthony Freedman-trained Our Ivanhowe is also allocated the same Caulfield Cup handicap as last year, the now seven-year-old subsequently winning the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) in Brisbane this winter.

Other notable local Caulfield Cup weights include The United States (55.5kg) and Hartnell (55kg) who both race this weekend in the Group 2 Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m) and Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

Leading the latest Caulfield Cup odds at Ladbrokes.com.au paying $15 meanwhile is the Mick Price-trained Tarzino who is allocated 54kg for October’s classic looking for back-to-back wins by four-year-olds in the race after the success of Mongolian Khan (55kg in 2015).

The VRC Derby winner from last spring raced last weekend with an eighth in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) under 58.5kg at weight-for-age and will only improve over more metres this campaign.

Other key four-year-old Caulfield Cup weights this year include the New Zealand-trained ATC Derby winner Tavago (54kg), last year’s VRC Oaks winner Jameka (51.5kg), at ATC Oaks winner Sofia Rosa (51kg) and Queensland Oaks winning Kiwi Provocative (50.5kg).

See below for the complete Caulfield Cup 2016 handicap weights with the first round of acceptances closing at midday next Tuesday, September 6, with markets to be updated soon after at Ladbrokes.com.au.

2016 Caulfield Cup Weights

Caulfield Race 8 – 15/10/2016