Foot abscess forces Viddora out of The Goodwood

South Australia has been robbed of their best chance of a home town victory in Saturday’s Group 1 $1m Darley Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville following the scratching of the in-form mare Viddora.

Viddora, above, has been scratched from The Goodwood at Morphettville.Photo by Jenny Barnes.

Viddora, above, has been scratched from The Goodwood at Morphettville.Photo by Jenny Barnes.

Viddora was withdrawn this morning after trainer Lloyd Kennewell reluctantly conceded that the mare would not recover from a foot adscess.

“Unfortunately Viddora is out of the Darley Goodwood Hcp on Saturday at Morphettville. This is due to a foot abscess. Shocking timing,” Kennewell tweeted.

Even though Viddora was listed around the $20 mark at Ladbrokes.com.au at the time of her withdrawal, the I Am Invincible mare would have gone into The Goodwood with some outstanding form under belt.

Two starts back Chris Parnham steered Viddora to a one length win in the Group 3 $120,000 R N Irwin Stakes (1100m) at Morphettville on April 22 and then with Joe Bowditch in the saddle the mare followed that up with a fast finishing second to Secret Agent in the Group 1 $1m Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville on May 6.

The scratching of Viddora has opened the door for the Henry Dwyer trained first emergency Lucky Liberty to gain a place in the sixteen horse Goodwood field.

Lucky Liberty will move into barrier thirteen and is coming off a first up third to Rich Charm in the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Sprint (1200m) at Caulfield on April 22.

Betting at Ladbrokes.com.au has Lucky Liberty marked at $21 in the market order that has the Darren Weir trained Black Heart Bart as the $3.50 favourite to score back to back wins in The Goodwood.

On the second line of betting at $7 is the former West Australian trained Vega Magic who is now prepared by the Team at Lindsay Park and last start Robert Sangster Stakes winner Secret Agenda is also well in contention at $7.50.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.