Though it came as a surprise to many Mont Ormel's (Fr) (Air Chief Marshall {Ire}) win in Thursday's G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris was far from a shock for his trainer Pia Brandt. The Swedish native who has been based in France for the last ten years was registering her first Group 1 success and she had been confident Mont Ormel had the required talent to make an impact at the top level. “I was not shocked, he is progressing all the time and we knew we had a good horse. I just didn't expect him to do something so big just yet,” said Brandt. Though well beaten in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau over a mile in April Gerard Augustin-Normand's colt has improved greatly for the step up to twelve furlongs having been the wide margin winner of a listed race over ten furlongs at Compiegne June 13.
Regarding future plans, Mont Ormel would need to be supplemented for the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe though that has not been ruled out. “We will discuss what we are going to do, he's not entered in the Arc but it might be an opportunity. The owners already have one of the favourites for the Arc in La Cressonniere (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}).” Brandt is obviously hopeful Thursday's victory over Red Verdon (Lemon Drop Kid) will help boost her profile. “I've been in France a little bit more than 10 years. The last couple of years we have a stronger stable and hope to attract new owners and better horses. It's fantastic to win a Group 1 and I hope it won't take another 10 years,” she added.
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