Cast your mind back two years, and the team behind Mark Twain was joyful after securing a ballot exemption for the Melbourne Cup.
Just six months on from taking out the Roy Higgins (2600m) at Flemington, those aspirations were dashed when Mark Twain picked up a tendon issue during his buildup to the 2024 spring campaign.
Fast forward to this Saturday, and Mark Twain returns to the same Flemington fixture where he triumphed two years prior.
On this occasion, he is pursuing a Group 1 win in the Australian Cup (2000m) rather than a Melbourne Cup exemption.
The gelding lines up for his second outing under Phillip Stokes on Saturday, following a strong third-place effort in the Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on March 24.
He has since completed a light jump-out at Flemington, and Stokes believes maintaining his freshness is optimal for his engagements.
“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.”
Mark Twain was formerly under the care of Roger James and Robert Wellwood, making a quick trip to claim the Roy Higgins two years back.
Post his injury-induced break, Mark Twain had one outing in New Zealand prior to racing frequently in Melbourne at short intervals, yielding average results.
“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.”
Stokes indicated he would assess Mark Twain’s showing on Saturday prior to mapping out his next target as a stayer.
Explore the top Australian betting sites for the latest Australian Cup markets.