It seemed as though it would be only a matter of time before Twain added a stakes victory to his name and the rising star did just that at Rotorua on Sunday, powering late to take out the Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215m).
A winner in his debut last July, the John Bell-trained gelding has never finished out of the first four in 12 starts, including six victories and a fourth placing when starting favourite in the Gr.2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m).
He continued to improve out of that performance to finish second under a big weight to Midnight Edition at Te Rapa last start, and back at weight-for-age conditions, he was right in contention in the $140,000 contest closing third-favourite to the latter and Grail Seeker.
In the hands of regular rider Vinnie Colgan, Twain picked the start beautifully and came out running, eventually finding cover off the fence outside of Whiskey ‘N Roses. Midnight Edition worked from an outside draw to take over at the 800m and was travelling on the home turn, as was Glamour Tycoon, and the pair went to war early in the straight.
Just as the mare looked to have the edge over Midnight Edition, he came kicking back, but hunting them down was Twain, who showed his classy turn of foot to storm over the top and score by a neck.
Midnight Edition claimed his second Group placing in the runner-up spot, while Glamour Tycoon added further black-type to her page in third.
The result was very satisfying for Bell, having carefully managed the talented son of Per Incanto through his career.
“It’s great for myself, the owners and the guys working with me in the stables, it’s pretty gratifying for the team,” he said. “A lot of work has gone into him, he’s had a few issues that we’ve worked around successfully so it’s a nice result.
“I had him a little underdone in the Foxbridge, he ran fourth and had a good blow afterwards, so we learned from that.
“He was absolutely brilliant today and Vinnie Colgan rode him superbly, it was a true, professional ride. He rode him exactly to plan and the horse responded, Twain is an amazing athlete and both rider and horse deserved the win.”
A lightly-raced five-year-old, Bell believes Twain will continue to improve with maturity on his side, but is keeping his options open with future targets.
“He’s such a professional, he’ll keep going forward from here,” he said. “We’ll try to keep him happy and place him in the right races, where we’ll hope to get positive results.
“We’ll let him have a relax and see what’s about, there’s no panic.”
Bred by his owner Elizabeth Martin, Twain is out of top mare Fleur de Lune, who won the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) during her decorated racing career. The gelding has now earned Martin just shy of $248,000, with seven wins to his credit. – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
