They say weight will stop a train, and that seems true for the Railway Stakes (aptly).

The Railway is one of four Group 1 1600-metre handicaps on the Australian calendar. And while kilos are important in all four, the Railway is the one where the lightweights really thrive.

Of the past 16 winners, 14 have had 53.5kg or less, including the last 10. When Luckygray won his second Railway with 58kg in 2013, he became the only winner of the metric era to carry more than 56.5kg.

As well as the lightweights, it’s the locals that tend to dominate the Railway.

Non-WA stables have won the race just three times this century, with Sniper’s Bullet in 2009, Gathering in 2010 and Good Project in 2015.

Since that 2015 Chris Waller raid there have been 22 eastern-states runners in the Railway for three seconds and a third, with 16 of the 22 finishing eighth or worse. Last year Roots ($6) finished 10th, Tuvalu ($4.80) 12th and Forgot You ($21) 14th.

Despite the raiders’ record, three of the top four in the market for Saturday’s Ascot mile are trained in the east (with 55.5kg or more).

The Railway is one of three seven-figure races to be run this Saturday, joining the $1 million Gong at Kembla Grange and the $1 million Meteorite, the new slot race on the Cranbourne Cup program.

Unlike the Railway, the Gong hasn’t been dominated by locals. The ill-fated Count De Rupee, for Robert and Luke Price, is the only Kembla-trained winner in the race’s first five years.

The home team takes a strong hand into Victoria’s first slot race, with seven of the 14 acceptors in the main field stabled at the giant Cranbourne training centre.