Mark Twain seeking extra wins at Flemington track
Two years ago, Mark Twain's owners were thrilled to earn a ballot pass into the Melbourne Cup.
Half a year after his victory in the Roy Higgins (2600m) at Flemington, hopes crumbled due to a tendon injury sustained by Mark Twain in the lead-up to the 2024 spring.
Now, on Saturday, Mark Twain appears at the matching Flemington card from two years earlier.
Instead of aiming for Melbourne Cup qualification this time, the focus is a Group 1 success in the Australian Cup (2000m).
Saturday marks his second run for trainer Phillip Stokes, after an impressive third in the Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on March 24.
Following that, he did a gentle jump-out at Flemington, with Stokes opting to keep him fresh heading into races.
"Four weeks between runs with a jump-out in between, I feel that's the best way to have him, fresh with three weeks being the minimum," Stokes said.
"It's a hard race, but the favourite (Birdman) was the one that beat us (last time), and we can only improve and I think the Flemington 2000 (metres) is ideal.
"He ticks a lot of boxes, but we need to see it again, and I'm sure we will because we've been very happy with his work.
"He's very relaxed and happy, so we go their quietly confident."
Previously trained by Roger James and Robert Wellwood, Mark Twain notched the Roy Higgins on a brief Australian foray two years ago.
Returning from injury layoff, he raced once in New Zealand then at tight intervals in Melbourne, with unremarkable form.
"After his issues, he may not have come up last prep, and they were racing him every two weeks," Stokes said.
"The prep previous to that, he was going a lot better, and I noticed they were spacing his runs a lot more and he was racing well.
"He was working well leading into his first-up run and I tipped him to a lot of people, saying to have something each-way on him.
"We know he's a good horse when he's right, so let's hope he's somewhere near his best."
The trainer plans to review Mark Twain's Saturday performance before plotting the next step for the distance specialist.
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