ORDEROFTHEGARTER GETS CUPS PENALTY

Orderofthegarter has been penalised 1kg for the Melbourne and Caulfield cups following his win in the Naturalism Stakes on Saturday.

The Danny O’Brien-trained star rocketed into $11 favourite with Sportsbet for the Caulfield Cup following his victory, with Racing Victoria Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter confirming the penalty for that performance on Monday.

He will now carry 51kg in both the Caulfield and Melbourne cups.

The Naturalism Stakes is a ballot exempt race for the Caulfield Cup and it means Orderofthegarter now joins Mornington Cup winner Aktau as horses guaranteed a start in the race.

He is yet to pass the ballot for the Melbourne Cup but can do so by finishing in the top eight of the Caulfield Cup.

 “It was encouraging to see Orderofthegarter record his third career win in the Naturalism Stakes and his first since winning a Listed race for 3yos in April 2017,” Carpenter said.

“The merit of the victory on Saturday warranted a 1kg penalty for both Cups as he seeks to emulate Jameka who won the Caulfield Cup after winning the Naturalism Stakes in 2016."

Carpenter also confirmed that Friday’s Group 3 Newcastle Cup (2300m) winner Mugatoo has escaped a penalty in both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

“While Mugatoo continued his impressive winning form taking the Newcastle feature with topweight, given he already has 53.5kg in the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups we elected not to re-handicap him for either race,” he said.

The penalty issued to Orderofthegarter is the same afforded to 2018 winner Night’s Watch and 0.5kg more than Jameka received when rising from 51.5kg to 52kg in 2016.

Three of the last six winners – Brimham Rocks (2019), Magnapal (2015) and Gris Caro (2014) were not penalised for their Naturalism wins.

Story by Ryan Reynolds for Racing.com