In-form young Adelaide trainer Lloyd Kennewell is confident a good showing from his gun mare Viddora in two million dollar races at home in South Australia this autumn will help her gain a slot in the 2018 The Everest next spring in Sydney.
Group 1 winning mare Viddora will look to gain a slot in the 2018 The Everest field next October after missing out on a spot in the inaugural edition of the lucrative feature. Photo: Jenny Barnes.
The five-year-old daughter of I Am Invincible failed to secure a position in the inaugural 12-horse field for Royal Randwick’s $10 million The Everest (1200m) in mid-October this year.
Now Australia’s richest turf race, The Everest was won by the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Redzel who franked the form with a Group 1 $1 million Darley Classic (1200m) victory down the Flemington straight next-up during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Redzel is already tipped to win The Everest again in 2018, the race worth an increased $13 million in total prize money, during next year’s Sydney Spring Racing Carnival sitting top of the all-in markets at $8 through Ladbrokes.com.au.
Viddora meanwhile is only considered a $34 chance to secure a slot and salute, a generous price according to Kennewell.
“It’s a matter of having the right horse and she’s probably the right horse to get a slot,” he told Racing NSW.
“We have to go through the motions. A lot of the slots are held up by people who want to have their own horses in it so that limits the amount that are left out.”
Kennewell enjoyed his maiden Group 1 success as a trainer on December 2 at Ascot Racecourse in Perth thanks to Viddora taking out the $1 million Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) by one and a half lengths.
That followed two brave Moonee Valley runs by the now $1.47 million earner in Melbourne first and second-up when runner-up to Golden Slipper Stakes winning filly She Will Reign in the Group 1 $500,000 Moir Stakes (100m) and fourth to Hey Doc in the Group 1 $1 million Manikato Stakes (1200m).
Originally Kennewell believed his mare’s Moir Stakes effort would’ve been enough to secure interest for The Everest and that she would have been a danger to Redzel had she run.
“I think she was entitled to her spot this year if we got one but everyone went off early because it was the first year,” he said.
“We wanted to see how she went in the Moir but from there the door was only ajar for a few spots.
“I think they will probably be getting in touch with us this time. If she’s holding her form they’d be mad not to.
“She’s probably the best sprinting mare in Australia at the moment.’’
Viddora is set to race again at the Gold Coast in Queensland on January 13 contesting either the $1 million Magic Millions Sprint (1200m), which she finished a close second behind Target In Sight to this summer gone, or the $1 million Magic Millions Fillies & Mares Plate (1300m).
From there the plan is to return home chasing the riches of the Adelaide Autumn Racing Carnival targeting the Group 1 $1 million Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) on May 5 and Group 1 $1 million The Goodwood (1200m) a fortnight later at Morphettville.
“We’ve obviously got to get through the Gold Coast first and then the plan is to stay at home in Adelaide for the autumn,” Kennewell said.
“She’s in a really good zone, she had a really good spring and as long as she’s sound she will keep rolling through the races.
“There’s two $1 million races and one of them is for mares. If she gets through those races then we’d look at getting into the Everest.”
Viddora was runner-up to Secret Agenda in this year’s Robert Sangster Stakes, which was her maiden start in Group 1 company.
