Racing: Ladies First weighted well

Trainer Allan Sharrock says Auckland Cup winner Ladies First's Melbourne Cup campaign is on target.

And that includes how the Kiwi mare is weighted for the great race.

Ladies First has been allocated 51.5kg for the Flemington thriller on November 6 and Sharrock is optimistic that will get her in the field.

"She is qualified as an Auckland Cup winner and in recent years qualified horses with anything down to around 50kg have got into the race.

"So I think she will get a start and I am definitely not going to aim her at any other race purely for the sake of qualifying."

Ladies First will head to Hastings for the Windsor Park Plate on Saturday week and then return there for the Livamol two weeks later before the A$500,000 Moonee Valley Cup.

Jon Snow is topweighted of the Kiwi-trained contenders with 55.5kg, ahead of stablemates Bonneval at 54.5, Vin De Dance 53.5 and Zacada, who shares the 53kg rating with fellow Waikato galloper Sir Charles Road.

Other New Zealand-trained gallopers in the weights are Highlad and Pentathlon with 51 and Our Abbadean with 50.5kg.

Former New Zealand galloper Humidor is topweight for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

Darren Weir's stable star, who chases a fourth group one in Saturday's Makybe Diva Stakes, will carry 58kg.

"There's no doubt in my mind he is the best-performed and highest rated horse in both races," Racing Victoria's Greg Carpenter told the Herald Sun newspaper.

"It's been a challenging year this year in constructing the weights because there is no natural top-weight in both races this year."

Pointing to the absence of last year's winners Boom Time (Caulfield Cup) and Rekindling (Melbourne Cup), Carpenter said handicapping this season's features was more difficult than usual.

Since Makybe Diva retired in 2005 after posting her third Melbourne Cup win, only Fiorente (2013) has failed to defend his crown.

Godolphin star Best Solution has 57.5kg in both Cups.

Aidan O'Brien's trio - Lancaster Bomber (57.5kg), Cliffs Of Moher (56.5kg) and Idaho (56kg) - are prominent in the weights.

Torcedor, now trained by Andreas Wohler, has 57kg.

The Melbourne Cup is again likely to feature up to a dozen international raiders.