Mark Twain rockets home in Roy Higgins

[Wandering Eyes]

Emerging stayer Mark Twain (NZ) (Shocking) capped a dream day for Cambridge trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood when he won Saturday’s Listed Lexus Roy Higgins (2600m) at Flemington and secured himself a ballot-free entry into the Melbourne Cup (Gr.1, 3200m).

Mark Twain’s heroics in the A$500,000 staying feature came less than an hour after his superstar stablemate Orchestral (NZ) (Savabeel) won the Gr.1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) in Sydney. That Savabeel filly will deservedly dominate headlines for her blockbuster performance at Rosehill, but Mark Twain’s supporting act was also something well out of the ordinary.

The four-year-old son of Shocking came into the race with only 11 career starts to his name. He had won three of those and placed in another three, headed by a last-start third in the Gr.2 Auckland Cup (3200m) at Ellerslie on March 9. He was also a fourth placegetter in last year’s Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) before finishing well outside the placings on heavy ground in the Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m).

Mark Twain was thrown in at the deep end against some seasoned staying opposition for Saturday’s Roy Higgins, and that difficult task looked close to impossible as he was a clear last and almost detached from the rest of the field coming down the side of the track.

But jockey Mick Dee brought him to the outside in the straight and let him rip, and Mark Twain produced an astonishing finish to bound past all of his 11 rivals and win by half a length.

“I can hardly believe what this horse did today,” James said. “At the 600m, I had all but given up hope. He was flat catching the second-last horse. The big expanses at Flemington helped him, but it was a mighty staying effort.

“You didn’t see him at his best on a bottomless track when he came over for the Derby in Sydney last year. Otherwise, he’s not blotted his copybook. No doubt that staying is the name of his game, and big tracks. The fact that we’ve got the golden ticket into the Melbourne Cup now makes it so much easier to plan his spring campaign. It was such a dominant staying effort today.”

Mark Twain made a big impression on Dee, who was having his first ride on the horse.

“To be honest, I was just trying to get him around the track,” Dee said. “We’re here at Flemington and he wanted to hang out on me the whole way and I didn’t have a lot of steering in the straight.

“Once he finally changed legs and balanced up in the straight, that was when you saw that turn of foot. It was a super effort, but he didn’t give me the easiest of rides. He can pull and reef and tear, but I was able to manage that. He was wanting to get on one rein, but he’s certainly got great staying ability and we definitely saw it then.”

Mark Twain was bred by Taikorea Thoroughbreds Ltd. He became the 24^th individual stakes winner for Rich Hill Stud stallion Shocking, joining a list that features Group One stars I’m Thunderstruck (NZ), Defibrillate (NZ), Fanatic (NZ) and El Vencedor (NZ). The dam of Mark Twain is the Prized mare Pinders Prize (NZ), who has produced three winners from seven foals to race including the Moonee Valley Cup (Gr.2, 2500m) Wellington Cup (Gr.2, 3200m), New Zealand Cup (Gr.3, 3200m) and Lexus Stakes (Gr.3, 2500m) placegetter Pentathlon (NZ) (Pentire).

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