After failing to meet her reserve at a recent broodmare sale, The Map will return to training.
South Australian trainers Dan Clarken and Oopy Macgillivray have not given up hope of The Map contesting another Melbourne Cup.
The Map 12 months ago won the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m) at Flemington which paved the way for a Cup start last November.
While The Map will not be contesting the Andrew Ramsden at Flemington on Saturday, there are 28 horses entered looking for that illusive ballot exemption into this year’s Cup.
After scoring in last year’s Andrew Ramsden, The Map, under Rachel King, went on to finish 21st in the Melbourne Cup behind Knight’s Choice.
Returning for two runs in February, The Map failed to live up to expectations and the decision was made to sell the mare at the Chairman’s Sale in Sydney last week.
But The Map was passed in, failing to meet her reserve of $200,000 and Clarken and Macgillivray have made the decision to put the mare back into work.
“We gave her the opportunity to become a broodmare, and someone might have come along and offered $300,000 or $400,000 for her,” Clarken said.
“That didn’t happen, and she got passed in.”
The training partners were both in Sydney last week to see The Map go through the sale ring.
Clarken said watching The Map before the sale convinced both he and Macgillivray the mare could still be a racehorse.
“Oopy and I were both pretty happy to see her at the sale ring,” Clarken said.
“We both went up and we were happy to see her really up and about and she really got wired up out the back.
“We thought if she was walking around like an old broodmare, we’d probably let her go.
“But when we saw that, and after she’s had a good spell up in The Hunter, with plenty of green grass, she’s come back and she’s going to race on like an old gelding.
“You never know, she might be another Melbourne Cup contender.”
