Vengeur Masque penalised for Geelong win

Vengeur Masque has earned a Melbourne Cup penalty for his narrow Geelong Cup win.

The Mike Moroney-trained import won Wednesday’s Geelong Cup (2400m) by a half-head over Gallic Chieftain and has been asked to carry an extra 0.5kg in the Melbourne Cup.

The penalty takes Vengeur Masque’s Cup weight to 50.5kg and moves him from 45th to 37th in the latest ballot order.

The next round of Melbourne Cup acceptances are taken on Monday.

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The Melbourne Cup has a field limit of 24 and Vengeur Masque could run in the Lexus Stakes on Saturday week at Flemington which carries a Melbourne Cup ballot exemption for the winner.

Vengeur Masque’s penalty is the same as last year’s Geelong Cup winner Qewy, who went on to finish fourth in the Melbourne Cup.

“Since 2000 there have been 12 Geelong Cup winners go on to compete in the Melbourne Cup with seven of those achieving a top-four finish,” Racing Victoria’s Greg Carpenter said.

Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011) were overseas horses who have completed the Geelong Cup-Melbourne Cup double.

Vengeur Masque, who registered his first Australian victory at Geelong, is at $81 in Melbourne Cup betting.