French Import Mormona Finally Rewards Connections

After a string of near-misses, French import Mormona (Morandi) finally broke through on Australian soil with a hard-fought victory in Saturday’s 2800-metre Deane Lester Flemington Cup, reports horsebetting.com.au. The Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained stayer had gone winless in 10 starts since arriving Down Under but turned the tide at Flemington, producing a gritty late run to land his maiden local success. Sent out a well-supported $4.20 chance under Jamie Melham, Mormona made full use of barrier one and tracked the rail behind stablemate Sir Chartwell, who ensured an even tempo. The decisive moment came near the 300m mark when Mormona was forced to angle off the heels of favourite Muktamil ($2.80), who had over-raced and then pressed forward facing the breeze. Melham’s timing was spot on as Mormona surged late to overhaul Muktamil and win narrowly but convincingly. Rob Archibald praised Melham’s composure, acknowledging: “Jamie gave him a lovely ride, we’re very grateful to Grant Morgan and his team, they’ve been great supporters of us.” The stable now faces a decision on whether to give Mormona a short break or continue racing into the spring. “I’m not sure whether we just slightly back off him and come back and look at a few targets in the spring, or whether we push on,” Archibald said. The result marked a major breakthrough for the son of Morandi, who had signalled his readiness with a strong second in last month’s Stayers Cup. “He’s been building for a nice run like that, so just nice to see him put it all together,” Archibald said. “He’s a really nice horse, and I think he’ll get out over a bit further too. Whether he’s ready for that this year or not is to be decided, but it might be something to look at in the future.”