No Caulfield Cup Penalty For Magnapal

Magnapal will carry 50 kilograms in the 2015 Caulfield Cup after Racing Victoria Chief Handicapper Greg Carpenter elected not to penalise the tough stayer for his win in the 2015 Naturalism Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.

Magnapal finished over the top of his rivals to win the Naturalism Stakes and earn a place in the 2015 Caulfield Cup field. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos

Magnapal finished over the top of his rivals to win the Naturalism Stakes and earn a place in the 2015 Caulfield Cup field. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos

Magnapal was well-backed in the lead-up to the Naturalism Stakes following his impressive effort in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) at Caulfield on August 29 and he hit the line strongly in the final stages of the Group 3 event to score a narrow victory over The United States and Genuine Lad.

The Naturalism Stakes offers the winner ballot-exempt entry into the Caulfield Cup and the winner is eligible for a weight penalty, but Carpenter revealed this afternoon that he did not believe that Magnapal required a re-handicap.

“It was a competitive renewal of the Naturalism Stakes again this year but with Magnapal winning on the limit weight it was difficult to get him any higher in the handicap for the Caulfield Cup,” Carpenter said.

“Interestingly, there was just 1.1-lengths between the first four placegetters, all of whom were also on the limit weight.

“Since the Naturalism became an exempt race for the Caulfield Cup four runners have taken their place in the race, the most recent being Mr O’Cierin, who was penalised 0.5kg for his Naturalism win and carried 52.5kg when 11th in the 2013 Caulfield Cup behind Fawkner.”

Magnapal made his racing debut in August of 2012 and he recorded only one win in his first 13 race starts, but he has gone to another level during his 2015 Spring Racing Carnival campaign.

The six-year-old returned to the races with a narrow victory over Bradman and Tiny’s Legacy in the Will Hill Wolf Pack (1400m) at Sandown on August 12 and he claimed his maiden win at Listed level in the Heatherlie Stakes before his Naturalism Stakes victory.

Magnapal is set to be Terry and Karina O’Sullivan’s first runner in the Caulfield Cup since tough stayer Dolphin Jo finished 15th behind Godolphin-owned All The Good in the 2008 edition of the game.

Magnapal is currently available at 2015 Caulfield Cup odds of $51 with Ladbrokes, while Japanese stayer Fame Game ($9) is a clear favourite from fellow Japanese stayer Hokko Brave ($13), last year’s Caulfield Cup runner-up Rising Romance ($13), Australian Oaks winner Gust Of Wind ($15), Godolphin-owned Hartnell ($17), Australian Derby winner Mongolian Khan ($17), Chris Waller-trained Preferment ($17) and Crown Oaks winner Set Square ($17).

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Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.