The Bendigo trainer and reinsman will drive Sparkling Success in the $50,000 Maori Mile and will enter the feature race quietly confident given recent form.

Sparkling Success is on the second line of betting at $7, behind only champion Victorian trotter Glenferrie Typhoon, who will be out to claim his second Maori Mile in three years.

Svanosio, who has been based backed in his hometown of Bendigo since August, believed the six-year-old gelding, who is trained at Cudgee by John Meade, had earned his crack at he likes of Glenferrie Typhoon and another of the favourites Maori Time.

“Glenferrie Typhoon was the Australian trotter of the year last year and Maori’s Time has won this race before and they have both won about $400,000, but he (Sparkling Success) is really stepping up now to run the really big ones now,” he said.

“He’s getting better all the time (and) he’s beaten them both home before, so hopefully he can do it again.

“He was huge again last start; he drew seven and did  a heap of work early on, was three-wide around the first bend and still hit the front half way up the straight and just got run down late.

“If he doesn’t have to do as much work early this time and gets somewhere near them, he will be pretty hard to beat.

“He’s definitely got a better draw.”

Regardless of whoever wins, Svanosio said it would be no surprise to see a new track record set for the mile.

“On a warm night, Bendigo is as fast as nay track in Australia and the trotters just get around it so well,” he said.

“There’s probably never been a better trotter’s race here.”

The 35-year-old has come close to breaking the Group 1 hoodoo before, including with Sparkling Success in last month’s $50,00 Bill Collins Sprint at Melton.

He has also been placed in three Sires finals and in New South Wales derbies.

“Hopefully I can go one better,” Svanosio said.

It was a mixed 2017 for the popular horseman, who was sidelined for three months while battling a cerebrospinal fluid leak (CSF).

He spent six weeks in hospital in Melbourne and another six weeks battling persistent headaches, neck and shoulder pain and vomiting.

Svanosio spent the months after his return in the Western districts, but returned home in August and has since trained 14 winners.

He continues to operate out of the stables of Australian harness racing great Bruce Morgan at Junortoun and has 11 trotters and a pair of pacers currently in work.

Svanosio will have four drives on Cup night, including on two of his own horses, Artful Christian, who is co-owned by his dad and BFNL general manager Dennis Bice, and Rosehill Magic.

“Artful Christian is no champion, but just a terrific horse and tries real hard,” said.

“He’s won nine races and it’s a pretty solid field he is in, but we are happy with him at the moment. He won’t be too far away.

“Rosehill Magic has won two races recently, but drawn very wide. We’re hoping she can run into a place.”

Asked for his view on Saturday night’s $60,000 Bendigo Pacing Cup field, Svanosio expected the Camperdown-trained Bad Billy to run a bold race.

“It’s pretty even, but Bad Billy has probably never ran in that class before, but he has just been racing terrific at Melton,” he said.

“He just gets home so hard and he won’t be too far away with only seven in it.

“He’s got the wonder-kid on him in Jason Lee – he’ll be very hard to beat.”