A closer look at the Yulong Newmarket Handicap

Ajax famously went under at ‘40/1 on’ – $1.025 in today’s language – in the 1939 Rawson Stakes, but one of his many big wins came in the 1938 Newmarket Handicap under 9 stone (57kg), which remains the heaviest weight carried to victory by a three-year-old.

Tentyris will be aiming to equal that this weekend after being hit with 57kg in the 1200-metre Group 1.

Ajax got home by a neck in the 1938 Newmarket, defeating three-year-old filly Ena despite an 8.5kg differential, while third placegetter El Golea carried the equivalent of 49kg.

Tentyris doesn’t have to spot any rivals that much weight in this week’s $2 million feature, but he will concede more weight to rivals than any other three-year-old this millennium.

The son of Street Boss is 7kg above the 50kg limit, which is shared by fellow three-year-olds Wodeton and Pallaton.

The only other three-year-old to run in a Newmarket with 57kg since 2000 was Fastnet Rock, who had 6kg above the limit when he finished second to star filly Alinghi in 2005.

Three years later Weekend Hussler won with 56kg, but he was only 4kg above the minimum in a year that weights were raised 1kg.

Two three-year-olds have carried 5.5kg above the limit since 2000 – Home Affairs (ninth, 56kg) and Growing Empire (fourth, 55.5kg) – while the only other to run with more than 4kg above the limit was Choisir, who had 54.5kg on a 50kg limit when sixth in 2003.

Exceed And Excel won the 2004 Newmarket under 55kg, which was 4kg above the limit, while Bivouac, who was 3kg over with 54kg, is the only other three-year-old to win with more than 2.5kg above the limit.

Bivouac perhaps best highlights the task confronting Tentyris. He went into the Newmarket with a peak Timeform rating of 124, which was the same mark afforded to Tentyris after his Group 1 wins in the Coolmore Stud Stakes and Black Caviar Lightning.

The highest peak Timeform rating taken into a Newmarket by a three-year-old this century is 127, shared by Fastnet Rock – who ran to that mark in the Newmarket but had the misfortune of having to concede 3.5kg to Alinghi – and Home Affairs.

Weekend Hussler went in with a 126 peak, while Exceed And Excel had run to 125.

The weights have not affected punter confidence in Tentyris, who was $2.20 on Thursday morning but spent much of the time since the Black Caviar Lightning win at an odds-on quad.

Joliestar broke a barren run for favourites when she won at $3.40 last year, the first favourite to score since Hay List 12 years earlier.

Hay List’s win followed Black Caviar, who won at $1.18, eclipsing Bernborough (4/9 or $1.45) as the shortest-priced winner of the race.

They are among six horses who have started odds-on in a Newmarket and the only one who went under was the race’s inaugural favourite, Maid Of Avenel, who ran third at 4/5 in 1874.

Weekend Hussler won at $1.70 and Alinghi $1.95, while the other was Ajax, who won at 4/6, which could be another link to the Hall of Famer if Tentyris can create a slice of modern history this weekend.