Fresh from sweeping the sire awards at the 2024 Tasmanian Racing Awards this season, the Armidale Stud team is in line for another significant achievement with The Map (Alpine Eagle x This Moment) flying the flag for resident stallion Alpine Eagle in the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 5 November.
Six-year-old mare The Map secured her spot in the ‘race that stops the nation’ with victory in the Listed Lexus Andrew Ramsden Stakes in May but had a gun season also taking out the G3 Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the Listed JRA Plate.
The ‘people’s champion,’ born, raised and sold under Armidale Stud’s watch, will jump with British-born jockey Rachel King aboard for trainers Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray.
It has been over 50 years since a Tasmanian-bred horse last won the Melbourne Cup. Piping Lane took honours in the great race in 1972, and should The Map triumph, she’ll be only the fourth horse bred on the Apple Isle to etch her name onto that famous three-handled trophy.
The closest a Tasmanian Bred horse has come to capturing the Cup since then was in 1985 when Tripsacum ran third, a moment recollected fondly by Armidale Stud principal David Whishaw, who’s late grandfather bred Tripsacum at the same farm The Map harks from.
“As far as my family is concerned, Tripsacum was the last horse to come off the farm to run in the Melbourne Cup.
“He ran around in the 1985 Cup won by What A Nuisance and he was absolutely flashing home to run third.
“It was an exciting moment for my family and for the Tasmanian breeding industry.”
The significance of having another Tasmanian-bred runner in the Cup isn’t lost on Whishaw, who’s seen the race undergo a period of evolution in recent years.
“It’s become increasingly difficult for horses like The Map to get a start in a race like the Melbourne Cup, so I think for us as a family, for Tassie as a breeding industry, for South Australia as a racing industry, and obviously for connections, being able to get a $35,000 yearling that’s by a $5,000 stallion into the Melbourne Cup is something extra special. It’s Horses Like The Map and their stories that keep us all getting out of bed and dreaming.”
“These are the things that make the industry special to me, that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or how much money you’ve got, if you have a bit of luck and you play your cards right, you can mix it with the best in the world. And who knows, we may even beat em!”
Armidale Stud’s Principal David Whishaw, his wife Rhiannon, and their newborn son Denis will be at Flemington to see The Map take on the best of the best in the $8.56 million G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup this coming Tuesday. “To have your brand and DNA on a horse that has the chance to write history is something incredibly special,” Whishaw said.
“There are so many hopes riding on The Map’s back. It’s not just our family or her trainers or the connections, but it’s the entirety of the Tasmanian breeding industry resting on her shoulders, and even broader than that, the small-time owners and breeders throughout Australia who love this sport for what it is. Come Tuesday, will tell if she’ll be able to pull off the fairytale finish.”
“The Armidale team and Whishaw family are incredibly proud of The Map, and we are excited to see her compete in a prestigious race like the Melbourne Cup. We wish her connections all the best of luck on Tuesday!”
The Map was bred by Michael Crossin and Richard Sadek and is owned and raced by Mrs J A MacGillivray, D J Clarken, R A Sadek, P Cousins, G V Davidson, Mrs B R Davidson, B R Hayden, South East Connections (Mgr: R S Dix) & Gambling Graziers (Mgr: A B Prior).
