Mormona outstays rivals in Deane Lester Flemington Cup
Mormona has proven too good in the 2800-metre Deane Lester Flemington Cup on Saturday, overcoming a bumpy run home to score his first win in Australia at Flemington.
Trained by Annabel and Rob Archibald, the French import had previously failed to win in 10 starts Down Under, although he did finish a narrow second in the Stayers Cup late last month.
Starting as a well-backed $4.20 chance with horse racing bookmakers under jockey Jamie Melham, Mormona got a good run along the fence from barrier one, with stablemate Sir Chartwell setting an even tempo throughout the race.
Things looked uncertain when Mormona was forced to shift off Muktamil’s ($2.80) heels approaching the 300m mark, but Melham timed the move to perfection.
Muktamil, who had played up pre-race and spent much of the back straight facing the breeze, put up plenty of resistance.
However, Mormona finished strongly in the final stages and got his head in front late to claim victory.
Rob Archibald, speaking after the race, praised Melham’s ride, saying, “Jamie gave him a lovely ride, we’re very grateful to Grant Morgan and his team, they’ve been great supporters of us.”
Archibald also discussed future plans for Mormona, admitting uncertainty over whether the horse would have another run before 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,” he said.
The win marked a significant breakthrough for Mormona, who had been steadily improving.
“He’s been building for a nice run like that, so just nice to see him put it all together. He’s a really nice horse, and I think he’ll get out over a bit further too,” Archibald said.
“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.”
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