YUCATAN’s immediate future hinges on a Melbourne Cup penalty from Racing Victoria’s Greg Carpenter, leaving the prospects of several Caulfield Cup contenders hanging in the balance.

A fringe Caulfield Cup candidate until breathtaking Herbert Power Stakes victory, Yucatán ($7) is now third favourite for the Saturday’s Cup behind Youngstar ($5) and Kings Will Dream ($6).

Despite being assured a run with only 52kg, he is no certainty to start with senior owner Lloyd Williams prioritising a possible seventh Melbourne Cup success.

Elated with Yucatan’s devastating performance, Williams is mindful Caulfield Cup victory would potentially draw another Melbourne Cup re-handicap.

Yucatán is currently 55th in the Melbourne Cup order of entry with 52kg but seems likely to receive a penalty of at least 2kg.

Amralah, another Macedon Lodge-owned galloper, won the Herbert Power in similar fashion in 2015 with 58kg and was given a 2kg penalty before missing the Cup with injury.

Yucatan’s victory with 56kg was at least as good and might have threatened Diatribe’s long-standing 2400m course record of 2:25.32 had he not been eased down by James McDonald over the last 150m, recording 2:26.47.

The sheer arrogance of an extraordinary late-race surge — a paralysing 22.78sec burst from the 600m-200m — prompted bookmakers to slash his price from $101 for the Caulfield Cup.

The victory propelled Yucatan to No. 5 in the Cup order, exempt from ballot.

But Williams said no decision would be made until Tuesday, pending discussions with Aidan O’Brien.

With Yucatan, Harlem (equal ninth) and Emotionless (equal 13th) uncertain of taking their places, there is a host of runners clamouring for places in the 18-horse field.

If Carpenter gave Yucatán a 2.5kg Melbourne Cup penalty he would almost certainly be assured a Melbourne Cup berth.

McDonald, who is provisionally committed to The Taj Mahal in the Caulfield Cup, was amazed by Yucatan’s acceleration and stamina.

“When I took the ride, they (Williams family) gave him some rap. They said this is our Melbourne Cup horse,” he said.

“They said ‘He’s as good as we’ve ever brought out’. He’s much better than Johannes Vermeer and he ran second (in the Melbourne Cup).

“That was an incredible performance. Not many can do that. I thought he’s going to paddle at some stage but he didn’t. When I let him stride, I thought he can’t sustain this gallop but he did.

“He doesn’t feel like a two-miler. He feels like a miler. That’s how fast he is.”

Racing Victoria stewards will today rule on whether Charlie Appleby’s Emotionless is allowed to accept for the Caulfield Cup.

The horse will undergo bone scans after injuring a hind leg during trackwork. He has not been galloped since.

Another Appleby galloper Hamada was put down on Saturday after fracturing a hind leg.