In his epic masterwork War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy declared that life’s two most powerful warriors are patience and time.

Tonight, at Lord’s Raceway Bendigo, these wonderful warriors may well meet as one.

Twelve years ago, a brand new feature event purpose-built to showcase and inspire the speed of southern hemisphere squaregaiters was inaugurated.

That race is the Aldebaran Park Maori Mile.

This evening, the 13th renewal of the Maori Mile will be staged and while a few naïve optimists may have hoped Australasia’s trotting talent would have matched Europe and North America’s by now, that was never realistic.

Nevertheless, the evolution of our global gait exponents has been rapid and dramatic.

And with Maori Time and Sparkling Success already invited to major international events following their Maori Mile successes – the former actually raced in an Elitlopp – the chasm between Europe’s elite and our own headline acts is closing by the minute.

Our patience is being rewarded; rewarded by time.

The inaugural Maori Mile champion, back in 2010, was Gary Hoban’s amazingly durable soldier Acacia Ridge.

At that time, it was a Group 3 contest and Acacia Ridge trotted his mile in 1:59.1min.

Fast forward eight years and Sparkling Success lowered that bar in extraordinary fashion, all the way down to 1:53.9min.

As of today, that remains the race record.

Its chances of retaining that role after tonight may be dictated by climate alone.

If the rain stays away and the weather is warm, who knows what’s possible?

Firstly, the predicted pace war between Tornado Valley and Aldebaran Revani should create a frenetic first two furlongs at very least.

Then, with those guns softened up, others will launch their assaults knowing their major rivals are vulnerable.

Many will say that none of this matters.

That time doesn’t matter. But it does.

That’s why they stage the Maori Mile over the true mile – 1609m – rather than Bendigo’s traditional sprint trip journey of 1650m.

That’s why this race is on the calendar.

Time elevates breeding potential, breeding creates faster horses, and faster horses give Australia the chance of competing on the global stage.

Few front lines in feature races have been as perplexing as the one we find in tonight’s Group 2 Bendigo Pacing Cup.

Typically, hometown hero Torrid Saint prefers to take a trail over longer journeys, but with barrier one at his disposal and a long list of sit-sprinters to his right, the chance of John Caldow holding the lead feels very real.

If Torrid Saint was to be crossed, New South Wales invader Spirit Of St Louis looks the likely beneficiary.

Either way the Bendigo Cup looks a super contest and the ideal launching pad for a three-week streak of regional features also including the Shepparton and Ballarat cups.

The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.