Mare aims to put Tasmanian breeding on The Map
Apple Isle star set for Foundation date as her Melbourne Cup prep steps up a gear
It is more than 50 years since a Tasmanian-bred horse won the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m), but the connections of The Map (Alpine Eagle) are daring to dream after she was assigned just 50 kilograms for the November 5 showpiece.
Back in 1972, the pride of Tassie Piping Lane (Lanesborough) carried 48 kilograms to an unlikely victory in the Melbourne Cup, becoming only the third horse bred on the Apple Isle to etch his name onto Australian racing’s most famous trophy.
Since then, the closest a Tasmanian horse has come to capturing the Melbourne Cup was in 1985, when Tripsacum (St. Briavels) flashed down the famous Flemington straight to finish third behind What A Nuisance (St. Puckle).
Tripsacum was born and raised at Armidale Stud, the same farm in the Tasmanian village of Carrick that produced The Map and, before her, another mighty mare in multiple stakes winner Mystic Journey who was sired by their resident stallion Needs Further (Encosta De Lago).
Armidale Stud is now managed by David Whishaw, a self-confessed racing fanatic whose late grandfather – also called David – bred Tripsacum.
Ever since the farm sold Lot 140 for $35,000 at the 2020 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale, Whishaw and the whole team at Armidale have been closely following The Map’s notable rise through the staying ranks under the care of Murray Bridge-based trainers Dan Clarken and Oopy McGillivray.
That rise culminated in her victory in the Andrew Ramsden Stakes (Listed, 2800m) back in May, thereby securing her place in the starting gates at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November.
The Map has already sampled success on Melbourne Cup Day, having swept to victory by 4.3 lengths in a Benchmark 96 contest over 2800 metres on last year’s card. Were she to repeat that performance in the $8 million showpiece in seven weeks’ time, it’s fair to say Whishaw wouldn’t know what to do with himself.
“We’ve got three young children including a newborn so it’s going to be a logistical challenge to get to Melbourne for the Cup, but it might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience so we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“You try not to get too far ahead of yourself in this game, because things can go wrong with horses and they can lose form just as quickly as they find it. But all being well, The Map will be there and if she is, we will be front and centre along with a great group of owners in her.
“I was doing some repairs in the pump shed on the farm when she ran in the Andrew Ramsden, so watching the race on my phone wasn’t the ideal experience but I was still on a huge emotional high when she won so God only knows what I’ll be like at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November.
“It’s obviously a dream come true for Armidale to have a runner in one of the world’s biggest races, and it’s great for Tasmania because she is Tassie through and through. We’re not small in acreage but we’re obviously much smaller in stature than most of the breeding juggernauts on the mainland, so it’s getting increasingly difficult to compete. When you factor in all the overseas horses who now come out here for the Cup, it’s an even bigger achievement for a farm like ours and hopefully it keeps the dream alive for other smaller breeders.”
Ahead of The Map’s expected run in this Saturday’s MRC Foundation Cup (Gr 3, 2000m), which affords the winner a golden ticket to the Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m), her co-trainer was certainly exuding confidence.
“She’s going really well and her gallop this morning was terrific, so we’re looking forward to Saturday,” said McGillivray, who has provisionally plotted out a spring campaign which takes in the Herbert Power Stakes (Gr 2, 2400m) and the Geelong Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) in the lead-up to the grand final.
“We’re all getting very excited and even though she’s never been to Caulfield before, provided she handles the track I would expect her to run really well judging by her work leading into the race. If she were to win on Saturday and get a ticket into the Caulfield Cup, then we would have to give it serious consideration even though it wasn’t part of the original plans.
“It would be a nice problem to have, but obviously the Melbourne Cup is her grand final so we will have to work out the best way to have her peaking on the big day. Even though things didn’t go to plan in the Geelong Cup last year, the timing still worked well for her run on Melbourne Cup Day so we’ll probably follow the same path again this year, but nothing is set in stone just yet.
“She keeps improving with every prep, and obviously she would have to improve several lengths again to be competitive in a race like the Melbourne Cup. She’s now much more mature mentally and physically, which means she’s able to do things in her races that she wouldn’t have been capable of doing even 12 months ago.
“So we’re all feeling pretty confident, and she’s already beaten a few of the horses she’s likely to meet at Caulfield on Saturday. It’s always a challenge to keep horses fit and healthy through a whole preparation, but as it stands right now we couldn’t be happier with her.”