Racing: Magnapal gets free shot at Caulfield Cup

Magnapal is a horse which had continued to improve. Photo / Thinkstock

The Caulfield Cup dream is alive for the connections of Stawell stayer Magnapal after he booked his place in the race with victory in the MRC Foundation Cup at Caulfield on Saturday.

The winner of the MRC Foundation Cup (2000m) earned a ballot exemption into the Caulfield Cup and the Terry and Karina O'Sullivan-trained Magnapal continued his unbeaten run this campaign with a narrow win over The United States.

Terry O'Sullivan has been training since 1972 and Magnapal will be just his second Caulfield Cup runner after Dolphin Jo finished 15th in 2008.

"I'm just rapt to get this little horse into the Cup," O'Sullivan said.

Magnapal was a horse which had continued to improve and he knew when he returned from a good spell that the gelding had come back better again.

"He has gone up a notch," O'Sullivan said. "I'm still not saying he's good enough to win the Caulfield Cup but we'll be pretty happy to have a crack at it."

Racing Victoria's chief handicapper Greg Carpenter will announce today whether Magnapal will receive a weight penalty for the Caulfield Cup.

Magnapal has 50kg which Currie said was too light for him. "Fifty-one, I would be a chance," Currie said.

Currie had Magnapal well positioned in sixth, one off the fence with Kapour leading and The United Stakes in the second half of the field.

Magnapal, who firmed from $6.50 to $5, angled into the clear off the leaders' backs at the top of the straight while The United States ($4.60) sprinted through closer to the inside to challenge but just missed by a head.

Genuine Lad was a half length away third. "He went super," jockey Damian Lane said of The United States.

"He just got held up for a touch too long."

Meanwhile, further north Chris Waller took a leaf out of the Bart Cummings training manual to win Saturday's Hill Stakes with Preferment just hours after he contemplated scratching the horse because of a wet track.

"I had a think about it and thought 'Bart Cummings, what would he do?',"Waller said on Saturday.

"He needs to get mileage into his legs to be ready for these big races so he's got to run in them and fortunately we have."

Preferment ($21) had never won on a wet track but his stamina prevailed in a head-bobbing finish to the 2000m race.

Godolphin's Magic Hurricane got his nose in front before Preferment kicked back under stern riding from Hugh Bowman to win by a long head.

The runner-up's stablemate Complacent held third after making the running, just in front of a wall of horses including two of Waller's other Melbourne Cup chances Who Shot Thebarman (fifth) and Grand Marshal (seventh).

"Smart ride by Hugh Bowman. He got going at the right time and had a good, tough horse over the last 100m," Waller said.

Options for the winner include the Craven Plate in Sydney on October 3 or the Turnbull Stakes in Melbourne a day later.

The gelding is entered for the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate, with Waller leaning towards the 2400m race as a Melbourne Cup lead-up.

"I'd say we'd go the Caulfield Cup route rather than the Cox Plate route but we've got a good horse we can think big with," he said.

"We will be realistic and run him in whatever he can be competitive in and hopefully he will be there on the first Tuesday in November."

James McDonald blamed himself for Magic Hurricane's defeat.

"Back to the gym for me, I think, I've got to learn to lift them," McDonald said. "Hughie Bowman is just too strong. My horse travelled a little bit keen, but put half a length on the winner, but just couldn't peg him back at the end."

- AAP