ESTEEMED horse trainer Phillip Stokes has his sights set on More Than Exceed going back-to-back in Friday’s Mildura Cup.
The 1400 metre race at Sandilong Park sees $100,000 in prizemoney up for grabs, with racing to go ahead without crowds due to COVID restrictions.
More Than Exceed claimed the 2020 Mildura Cup, held at Swan Hill with Michael Poy in the saddle, winning by more than a length from the Brent Stanley-trained Coming Around and Sondelon from the Matt Laurie stables.
The five-year-old gelding, who has eight wins from 31 starts, will only make his second start of the calendar year, having returned from a 10-month rest at Swan Hill racecourse in June where he finished fourth.
Stokes, who operates stables at Morphettville and Packenham, said he is looking forward to have More Than Exceed return to Mildura.
“It will be great having him back up and running actually at Mildura,” he said.
“My first ever winner as a trainer was in Mildura years ago and we’ve had plenty of horses from Adelaide come across. It’s a nice town and we’re looking forward to it.
“I feel for the club not being able to have crowds in, but we’re grateful racing is till going ahead and we’re looking forward to it.
“We’re not worried at all by the COVID situation. We’ll follow all the protocols and make sure we’re following all the regulations to make it as safe as possible.”
Stokes said More Than Exceed had to undergo a minor operation, with his last race before his return in June being at Morphettville last August.
“He had to have a minor operation last year and that was the recovery period,” he said.
“He had his first-up run at Swan Hill a month ago and pulled up really well, no problems there.
“We targeted this race as his main return and we’ve been working towards it.”
The Stokes stables have had a career-best season in 2020-21 with 145 winners, putting him fifth on the national trainer’s premiership, competing with stables that have more horses and bigger budgets.
“It’s a credit to all the staff across both stables,” he said.
“We don’t get ahead of ourselves but we trained 109 winners last season and we’re at 145 so far this season which puts us fifth in the country.
“We’re not a massive stable – we’ve got 50 here and 25 in Adelaide – so I’m definitely proud of what we’ve done.”
