Australia: Mac 'n' Cheese has seasoning to graduate in Oaklands Plate

The 2-year-old filly Mac ‘n’ Cheese will be favored to win for the first time in her career when she makes her third start, and stakes debut, in Saturday’s $79,536 Oaklands Plate at Morphettville Racecourse in Australia.

Mac ‘n’ Cheese was second by a neck in a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs as the even-money favorite at Bendigo Racecourse on May 16, and second by a head as the 7-5 favorite in a handicap at seven furlongs at Sandown Racecourse on June 2. In both races, Mac ‘n’ Cheese closed from well off the pace to just miss.

By the More Than Ready stallion Sebring, Mac ‘n’ Cheese is trained by the father and son team of Tony and Calvin McEvoy, who won with a sharp 12 of 50 runners from June 15 through Wednesday.

Mac ‘n’ Cheese is one of six maidens in a field of 11 Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds in the listed Oaklands Plate at seven furlongs at Morphettville, located in Adelaide. The nine-race program, which begins at 10:07 p.m. Eastern, or 7:07 p.m. Pacific, on Friday, will be run on the infield Parks course. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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A seven-furlong race on the Parks course is run around a wide, sweeping turn. An outside draw would seem to be detrimental for jockeys trying to save some ground before the stretch, which covers a little less than three furlongs.

Mac ‘n’ Cheese seems well-drawn in post 4. Two other fillies – Bleriot and Stalking – will draw support and start from posts 6 and 5.

Bleriot has won 2 of 6 starts and has the most experience of any of the runners. Bleriot won a five-furlong race on this course last December in her second start. More recently, Bleriot won a six-furlong handicap as the 9-10 favorite at Murray Bridge Racecourse on June 19, but was only fifth of 10, beaten 1 3/4 lengths, as the 6-5 favorite in a six-furlong handicap there on July 3.

Stalking, by Animal Kingdom, is winless in two starts for Godolphin Racing and trainer James Cummings, including a loss by three-quarters of a length in a lucrative handicap at six furlongs at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on July 3 in which she closed from eighth of 10.

Stalking is out of Hold to Ransom, the winner of the Sandringham Handicap at Royal Ascot in England in 2003.

Stalking is a half-sister to Retrieve, a Group 3 winner in Australia who was second in the Group 1 AJC Australian Derby in 2011 and later ended his career in English jump races, and Reparations, a multiple stakes winner in Australia.