The 6-Year-Old star daughter of Christian Cullen was understandably a non-competitor in a 2200m workout for one-to-two-win pacers, having notched up 23 lifetime wins, including five during her recent campaign in the United Sates.

Trainer and Molly Darling's usual driver, Brent Mangos, opted to stay on the sidelines on a horrendous day, weather-wise, and left junior reinsman Hayden Cullen to give Molly Darling a quiet run before stretching her out in the last 400m.

"She's gone good," Mangos said.

"We just sat her at the back because she's a non-competitor, but she's come home pretty good. The track was certainly sticky - but it wouldn't have made any difference (for her)."

Her third, behind winner Roman Conqueror and pacemaker Harry Kay continues her progression back towards racenight, after a win off 30 metres at a workout at Pukekohe last week.

"at the moment, she's probably going to go to Melbourne in May," Mangos said.

"There are three mares races (in three weeks) over there so she'll go there."

"We won't get a race here for her, I don't think."

The Ladyship Cup (on May 23) and the $100,000 Queen Of The Pacific on May 30, both at Moonee Valley, look right up Molly Darling's alley, and with the retirements of Foreal and It's Ella in recent months, the 2005 Group One Nevele R Fillies Series winner seems to be the best aged mare with open-class experience floating around New Zealand almost by default.

The weather conditions, with torrential rain soaking the track for most of the eight workouts, clearly didn't suit many of the horses, but Roman Conqueror's win in Molly Darling's workout was meritorious, dropping off Harry Kay's back to steal the heat by a length on a last 400m of 28.4.

The one-or-more win trot produced a useful workout for all four squaregaiters in the heat, with Dutch Annie setting a good pace up front before finally relenting to the in-form Extasia by half a length over the 2700m distance.

Matt Smith