South Australian horseman Lloyd Kennewell is convinced his consistent mare Viddora is ready to “run the race of her life” and shapes-up as a genuine contender for Friday night despite her generous Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes 2017 odds.
Morphettville trainer Lloyd Kennewell (pictured with Get The Nod) likes the odds on his mare Viddora to win the 2017 Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes on Friday night. Photo: Race Horse Photos Australia.
It is a star-studded field of eleven sprinters doing battle under the lights the night before Winx chases her third Cox Plate win at Moonee Valley for this year’s Group 1 $1 million Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes (1200m).
Red hot favourite in Manikato Stakes betting at Ladbrokes.com.au into $2.25 after drawing barrier three is the Lindsay Park-trained Memsie Stakes winner Vega Magic coming off the luckless second in Sydney’s $10 million The Everest (1200m).
The money is on Vega Magic to salute for the punters, jockey Craig Williams supremely confident he’ll get the job done on the favourite, while co-trainer Ben Hayes described the gate as “a perfect draw”.
“Craig will be able to jump and just be where he is comfortable,” Hayes said on Tuesday morning.
“The horse will drag him into the race and he’ll be hard to beat.”
Further down the Manikato Stakes odds at a more generous $18 is the Morphettville-trained I Am Invincible mare Viddora racing second-up for the spring.
In her resuming run the five-year-old finished a devastatingly close second behind the winning filly She Will Reign in the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m), the quinella decided in a photo.
That was her fourth run at Moonee Valley where she has enjoyed two seconds and a third.
“She’s been there a lot, so she knows the place well,” Kennewell said on Tuesday morning.
“We’ve just got to tick every box from now until Friday night, and hopefully she can fly the flag really well.”
Viddora hasn’t finished out of the top two in her past six starts going back to New Year’s Eve, but will need to be improving chasing her first win over further than 1100m.
A short-distance specialist, she does boast two seconds over the Manikato Stakes distance including two back when runner-up to Secret Agenda in the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) in May back home in Adelaide.
“I think she’s come on nicely, her coat’s definitely changed,” Kennewell said.
“It’s right there now – she’s at her peak which is good.
“You want to be at your peak for a weight-for-age 1200m, it’ll be a strong race.”
Joe Bowditch retains the ride on Viddora in Friday night’s Group 1 and Kennewell is confident his mare can be competitive from her barrier four draw.
“I’m not convinced barrier draws meant that much to her because she can be slightly slow away,” he said.
“She’s spot on and I think she’ll run the race of her life.
“She just needs luck to go her way.”
To lock in the juicy odds on Viddora to win the Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes 2017 head to Ladbrokes.com.au.
