Murray Bridge mare The Map misses out on Melbourne Cup
Locally trained horse 'The Map' has given it her all at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday.
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Local racehorse 'The Map' has had her time in the spotlight at Flemington on Tuesday at the race that stops the nation.
Unfortunately she ended up third to last, right behind the racehorse Positivity.
The winner of the day was Knight's Choice taking out the race by a hairline in a picture perfect ending.
The Map had left on Sunday for Ballarat, where she was based at Mitch Freedman's property ahead of the Cup.
The six-year-old mare booked her spot in the cup after winning the listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes earlier in the year.
Co-trainers Dan Clarken and Julia 'Oopy' MacGillivray said the Map had been great in the lead-up to the big day.
Last week she underwent vet checks in order to be cleared to race.
CT scans especially were stressful for trainers because you never knew what they may find, Ms MacGillivray said.
"When you get the message that your horse is through, that's a celebration in itself," she said.
"It's lovely to think that South Australia is excited and behind us ... we will do our best and I'm sure the Map will do everyone proud."
No South Australian horse has raced in the Melbourne Cup for 15 years, but having an underdog reputation didn't make it any less stressful, she said.
To be able to pull off a win would be pretty cool, Mr Clarken said.
The Map drew barrier 23 on Saturday, which Ms MacGillivray was happy to accept.
"I said 'As long as we don't draw one or 24 I'm happy', so onwards and upwards," she said.
Mr Clarken wasn't exactly on the same page, as he would have preferred the middle.
"But you can't pick your barriers," he said.
Rachel King is the jockey who will be in the saddle on cup day, a group one winning jockey born in England and now based in Sydney.
"A real positive with Rachel is, apart from her undoubted ability, she can ride 50 kilograms comfortably," Mr Clarken said.
"That suits our mare, who has quite a big wither, so she will have a reasonable size normal saddle on her back on race day."
The Map has done majority of her racing in South Australia, which is a testament to her skill to be able to get her points up.
"She bides her time behind the front of the pack ... and then hopefully on Tuesday she'll get a little opening when it counts and do her best work late," Ms MacGillivray said.
"When she gets to over 2800 metres, that's where you see the best of her," Mr Clarken said.
