Classy South Australian stayer The Map retired

The Map
The Map. (Photo by George Sal/Racing Photos)

The Map has been retired following a disappointing performance in Saturday’s Group 3 Lord Reims Stakes (2600m) at Morphettville.

Trainers Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray made the tough decision after the mare failed to show her usual finish and didn’t recover fully from the race.

The six-year-old finished eighth, 4.5-lengths behind the winner, Gotta Go Guru.

The Map had been aimed at redemption in next month’s Group 2 Adelaide Cup (3200m), after finishing as the runner-up to Excelleration in the same race last year.

Clarken admitted that the decision was hard but was made with the mare’s best interests in mind.

“She was below par yesterday and we made a decision on course yesterday that we would retire her,” Clarken told Racing.com.

“Oopy rang me this morning and said she’s pulled up quite rough too, so the decision was made and we’ll stick by it.”

Reflecting on her career, Clarken added, “It’s been a huge ride and there was a bit of emotion there yesterday with the boys – we went out the back at Morphettville underneath the grandstand and had a drink to toast her.

“There were a few tears from some of those burly blokes.”


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