Yucatan all but guaranteed Melbourne Cup spot after unparalleled penalty

The biggest penalty ever given to a Herbert Power winner all but guarantees Yucatan a run in the race that stops a nation after Racing Victoria's chief handicapper Greg Carpenter administered a 2.5kg (5.5lb) rise for Saturday's dominant performance.

The new Lexus Melbourne Cup co-favourite, who now has a weight of 54.5kg (8st 8.15lb), moves up to 24 on the order of entry from 55. And with 24 spots up for grabs it would take another runner leapfrogging him on the list – and then every single runner to stand their ground – for him to now miss out.

Carpenter said: "Generally if you're in the low 30s you get into the field and he's now number 24. He's not absolutely guaranteed a start but I would be even more surprised than I was when he won the race on Saturday if he didn't get into the Melbourne Cup."

Yucatan had been scheduled to run Saturday's Stella Artois Caulfield Cup – for which he escapes a penalty – but owner Lloyd Williams has decided to miss the race in order to give the four-year-old more time to recover from the Herbert Power.

Speaking before Yucatan's absence in the Caulfield Cup was revealed, Carpenter said: "The prize for the Herbert Power winner is you get into the Caulfield Cup and you cannot be penalised, so if Yucatan runs he will carry 52kg. What I can do as the handicapper is deliver a penalty to him for the Lexus Melbourne Cup.

"Previous benchmarks at the high end for a penalty for a Herbert Power winner have been 2kg. The way James McDonald put the sword to the horses on Saturday and went well clear in the straight, the margin of a length and a quarter is not really for me. The telling factor was the extraordinarily dominant victory from Yucatan.

"So his penalty will be 2.5 kilos. It is a bigger penalty than has been given to the Herbert Power winner in the last 40 years but I haven't seen a more impressive winner of the race. The official margin may have been a length and a quarter, but he was six lengths clear at the 100 metre mark until James throttled him down.

"I was surprised as it was a significant step up on his European form in 2018. You have to be realistic, he beat Brimham Rocks and Prince Of Arran, the horses he will have to take on in the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup are significantly better."

Pelvic fracture puts Emotionless out of Spring Carnival

Charlie Appleby's Emotionless has been ruled out of the entire Spring Carnival after a scintigraphy scan revealed he has sustained a pelvic stress fracture.

The five-year-old was found lame in his right hind leg after trackwork at Werribee last Saturday and has been on box rest until his Monday scan.

Emotionless: out of the Melbourne Cup and Caulfield CupCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

The news is another blow to Appleby, who tragically lost Hamada in a freak accident at Werribee on Saturday and had his other Melbourne Cup hope Cross Counter pick up a cut to his leg on Sunday.

Appleby took the decision to withdraw Emotionless from all races he was nominated for, including this Saturday’s Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup after a scan at the University of Melbourne Equine Centre at Werribee.

He will remain in his stable at Werribee, where Godolphin stable staff and vets will assess his suitability to fly back to Britain over the coming weeks.

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