Dual Longines Hong Kong Sprint winner Mr Stunning is under an injury cloud ahead of Sunday’s Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m), while Australian speedster Viddora has climbed off the canvas and is on track to take her place in the race.
Trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen said champion sprinter Mr Stunning was sore on Friday morning and didn’t work as planned.
“He walked out this morning and he looked [tender]. If I worked him maybe he would have got worse,” Lor said.
“He had a little bit of a foot problem so I have asked the farrier to have a look at the horse. The farrier put his shoe back on and said he looks better already.”
Trainer Frankie Lor draws barrier three for Mr Stunning in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize.
Everything seems positive for Lloyd Kennewell’s Viddora, with the Australian trainer saying she has come on in leaps and bounds since knocking her leg earlier in the week.
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“We were on the canvas 72 hours ago,” he said. “We were hearts in mouths but yesterday was a rapid improvement and today I think she is better again.
“I’m really happy this morning. She’s got the thumbs up from [jockey] Joe [Bowditch], he said she felt really good out there.
“I think she is about 80 per cent, yesterday she was probably 60 per cent and the day before I would have said she was probably 30 per cent.
Viddora trots on the all-weather track at Sha Tin on Thursday.
“The big thing for me is each day we have leapt forward, we’ve made progress. If we had been halted or she didn’t make progress yesterday, we were in big trouble. She made significant progress overnight.”
While Kennewell admitted the lead-in has been far from ideal, he is still confident his six-year-old can put in a top showing on Sunday, provided she makes it to the race.
“Unfortunately, we are going in slightly underdone, but she has been working every day so she hasn’t actually missed any trackwork, she’s just missed a gallop,” he said.
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“I’d much rather go in underdone and be ready to go than give her a gallop and we’re not right to go. She seems to run extremely well super fresh and I can tell you she’s a little bit [fiery] when she’s like that and that’s how she’s been the past few days.”
Mr Stunning and Viddora will undergo vet inspections on Saturday morning to determine whether they are fit to race.
