The Map already owns a Melbourne Cup ballot exemption and the pride of South Australia could be guaranteed a place in the Spring Carnival’s other big handicap after this Saturday’s meeting at Caulfield.
The daughter of Alpine Eagle will have her second start for the campaign in the $200,000 MRC Foundation Cup, the 2000-metre Group 3 better known as the Naturalism Stakes.
It carries a guaranteed berth in the $5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m), which wasn’t initially part of the spring program The Map’s trainers Dan Clarken and Oopy Macgillivray had mapped out for the six-year-old.
“From there (Saturday), she’ll go to the Herbert Power, also at Caulfield, and most likely the Geelong Cup,” MacGillivray said.
“We just feel that the Geelong Cup, although she didn’t get a great experience in it last year, the timing worked.
“She went from there, 10 days to Melbourne Cup Day and ran a blinder in the Macca’s Run on Melbourne Cup so we figured the timing seems to work.”
The Murray Bridge stable would be happy to reconsider The Map’s spring path if she was able to secure the Caulfield Cup ballot exemption.
The Caulfield Cup will be run on October 19, a week after the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) and four days prior to the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m).
The Map resumed in the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes (1400m) – finishing ninth, beaten 3-3/4 lengths – on August 24 and was kept up to the mark with a 1000m Murray Bridge trial on September 6.
“We were really happy with her first-up run and the way she finished off,” MacGillivray said.
“She had a little bit of bad luck in the gates, but if that’s the worst bit of luck we have in the next couple of months, I’ll take it.
“Even from that first-up run I think you can see improvement. She was pretty sharp for a 3200-metre horse.
“We’re more than happy with where she is at.”
The Map, who was allocated 50kg when Caulfield and Melbourne Cup weights were revealed on Tuesday, is a $15 chance in MRC Foundation Cup betting, which is headed by Heatherlie Handicap hard-luck story Saint George ($4).
