London: Godolphin's Cavalryman and Mastery are the joint-highest weighted European-based entries for the Emirates Melbourne Cup, to be run at Flemington on November 2.
Following Wednesday's publication of weights for the famous race the Godolphin pair were listed at 57.7 kilos.
This places them only 0.4 kilo below topweights Alandi and Efficient, who are trained by Robert Hickmott for local owner Lloyd Williams.
Dermot Weld, the only European trainer to have won the Cup, saw his two top entries Ascot Gold Cup winner Rite Of Passage and Profound Beauty, fifth in the 2008 Melbourne Cup, allotted 57 kg and 55kg respectively.
Luca Cumani has twice gone close to winning the prize and has Manighar (55kg) and Bauer, runner-up in the Cup two years ago and having his first run since at Salisbury yesterday, on 54kg. Cumani's Drunken Sailor, a winner at Goodwood last Saturday, has been given an attractive weight of 53.9kg.
Big names
Long gone are the days when the Melbourne Handicapper may have been intimidated by some of the big names coming over from Europe.
Greg Carpenter, weighting his sixth Melbourne Cup, said: "The record shows that 66 European horses have come to run in the Cup and only two [Vintage Crop and Media Puzzle] have won, so I think we have got the level of the European stayers."
Carpenter is not obliged to have a maximum topweight to work off and in giving the topweights 57.7kg he ensured that the last two Cups he has handicapped have seen the lowest ceilings in 20 years.
"I think it is the lack of a superstar once again that sees the topweight so low," he said.
Weighting
There is no provision for the weights to go up as they do in British handicaps. Shocking, the winner last year, will have nearly a stone more to carry when he competes this year off 57.1kg. Despite that increase, he is 11-1 favourite with local bookmakers.
According to Simon Crisford, racing manager for Godolphin, plans have yet to be finalised.
"It is the 150th Melbourne Cup and a very special occasion. We want to be part of it. We will study the weights over the next few days and form our squad," he said.
Great adventure
Jeremy Noseda, who trains Sans Frontieres has never been to Australia but has been caught up in what he describes as "the great adventure of the Cup".
"Sans Frontieres is as high [in the weights] as we had expected. I think he has the perfect profile from what I know about the race. I've watched videos of the last nine runnings of the Cup.
"Our plan is to go for the Irish St Leger and to see how we get on from there. He also has the option of the Prix Foy at Longchamp, just in case the ground came up bottomless at The Curragh," said Noseda.
Melbourne Cup legend Bart Cummings will be aiming for his 13th Cup. Cummings, 82, recently fractured his pelvis in a fall, but still plans to be well-represented, with Faint Perfume, on 52.7kg, the best value of his team at 15-1.
