Godolphin colt Kementari scores brilliant Randwick win
GODOLPHIN colt Kementari indicated it could handle the Group 1 J.J. Atkins next month by scoring a mightily impressive win at Randwick on Saturday.
The son of Lonhro was on the fourth line of betting at $5.30 for the Seven News Plate, but it scored like an odds-on shot and there was talk that it could head to the J.J. Atkins as one of the favourites.
Bookmakers have firmed in the Darren Beadman-trained two-year-old into favouritism at $4 with Sportsbet.com.au for the Brisbane winter carnival feature for the juveniles and it looks a colt with a bright future, but winning jockey Tye Angland believes it will be better with more time.
“He’s still untapped, still immature, but he’s got the ability there,” Angland said.
“He won’t reach his peak this preparation. I reckon the team will look after him.
“He can go to Brisbane and be competitive, but I reckon he can come back next preparation and be a whole lot better. It’s all about maturing and him working out what racing is all about.”
Angland was able to position Kementari in a great spot behind the speed and it showed a complete turn-of-foot to quickly put multiple lengths on the chasers.
“I was able to find a nice position in behind them, it was all about waiting for a run,” Angland described. “I had horses that were good chances in front of me and they were always going to take me into the race.
“I was confident when I straightened, gave him a bit of room and he really responded.”
Godolphin Australia Racing Manager Claire Mackay was representing the Beadman team and she was excited about what’s to come for the talented colt.
“That was very impressive. He was due to take a lot of improvement out of his first run behind Malahat,” Mackay said.
“He’s put them to bed pretty easily here today.”
Mackay didn’t divulge any information about potentially heading to the J.J. Atkins, but based on its performance on Saturday, she thinks it has a bright future.
“He’s still very new, very raw and has a lot more improvement to come,” she said. “Anything he’s done today, he’s only going to improve next season.
“He’s imposing now, so let’s hold our breath for next year.”
Easy Go Easy Win was the drifter in the market at $5.20 after touching $3.60 earlier in the morning, but it managed to battle on well for second.
Last start winner Sambro sat on a hot tempo up front and also battled away nicely along the inside of runners.