Sons And Lovers carries the topweight of 57.5kg in the 2026 Melbourne Cup — the handicap's verdict that he's the highest-rated horse in the race. Joseph O'Brien's charge drew beautifully in barrier 3 and picks up Dylan Browne McMonagle, freed from the scratched Defiantly on Derby morning.
History is the caution: topweights need genuine champion class to win the modern Cup. But the O'Brien yard has won this race twice with horses the market underrated, and from barrier 3 he'll get every possible chance to prove the handicapper right.