OUTSTANDING sprinter Viddora is expected to kick off her Adelaide autumn campaign in the Irwin Stakes on April 21.
Trainer Lloyd Kennewell said the mare had been back at his Morphettville stable for just over a week after a month break following her dominant win in the $ 1 million Magic Millions Snippets Sprint on the Gold Coast on January 13.
Viddora will have no more than three runs this campaign, all on her home track Morphettville.
After the Group 3 $ 120,000 Irwin Stakes (1100m), she is expected to try to add another Group 1 victory to her resume a fortnight later in the $ 1m Robert Sangster Stakes against her own sex.
She could then press on to the $ 1m Darley Goodwood (1200m) two weeks later.
Regular jockey Joe Bowditch starts a five-week suspension on Monday but will be back in time to ride Viddora.
“We’ll assess things after the Sangster but we’ve got the Goodwood as an option,” Kennewell said.
“I’m not locking into any of them but that’s the path we want to take.
“She’ll have a maximum of three runs … and there’s some chance she’ll only have two. We’ll just assess it as we’re going.
“She’s got plenty of time between now and the Irwin. She’ll have a jumpout or a trial going into it.
“The conditions suit because it’s weight-for-age.
“She actually won the race last year. It looks ideal to kick her off in it this year.”
Viddora ran second to Secret Agenda in last year’s Sangster but has taken her game to another level this season.
She snared her first Group 1 win in the $ 1m Winterbottom Stakes in Perth in early December after a couple of luckless outings at Group 1 level in Melbourne.
The five-year-old has won eight of 24 starts for earnings beyond $ 2m and has elevated her status as one of the nation’s premier sprinters.
Earning a berth in this year’s $ 13m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 13 is a key ambition for the Viddora team.
“We’ve already had some preliminary discussions with a few people. It’s only very early talk, though,” Kennewell said.
“It’s a matter of her performing. If she performs, I think she should get in.”
ben.scadden@news.com.au
