Godolphin set to retire Kementari to stud
Kementari, the dominant three-year-old of his generation when winning the Group 1 Randwick Guineas, will stand alongside his sire Lonhro at Kelvinside for the forthcoming southern hemisphere breeding season.
Kementari showed huge talent from very early on in his career, with a four-length victory over 1,400m at Randwick on his second start at two.
He opened his Classic season with promise, making the frame in both the Group 2 Run To The Rose and Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude, before finishing the unluckiest of seconds in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas.
Behind him that day was Group 1 Blue Diamond winner Catchy, plus future G1 ATC Derby winner Levendi.
After a summer spell, Kementari returned for the autumn with successive wins in the 1,200m G3 Eskimo Prince Stakes and the 1,400m Group 2 Hobartville Stakes.
He then lined up in the Group 1 Randwick Guineas as favourite to take the coveted race and certainly did not disappoint, once again demonstrating an explosive turn of foot to beat home nine G1 performers including Trapeze Artist, Pierata, D’Argento and Ace High, confirming his place as Australia’s leading three-year-old. Watch the race here.
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His Randwick Guineas victory was in record time, and by the widest margin since the race was moved to its present format and course.
This was enough to convince trainer James Cummings to take on world Champion Winx (Street Cry) in the G1 George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill, where he finished just 1.6 lengths behind the wonder mare and third to three-time Group 1 winner Happy Clapper (Teofilo).
At four, Kementari campaigned entirely at WFA level, running narrow margin placings in the Group 1 Memsie, C.F. Orr and Manikato Stakes.
Kementari is from the winning Redoute’s Choice mare Yavanna and is a half-brother to Godolphin’s Stakes winner and Group 1 juvenile Telperion (Street Cry).
Darley’s Head of Sales Alastair Pulford said, “The point that can’t be made strongly enough is his dominance as a three-year-old.
“You need only look at the quality of the horses that finished behind him in the Randwick Guineas to see the sort of horse he is.”
“And he’s by Lonhro, one of the great colonial-bred stallions, who just keeps proving how big an influence he is on the Australian racing and breeding industry. He is also from a mare by Redoute’s Choice, the benchmark for stallions in Australia in recent times.
“And this horse is as good a looking son of Lonhro as there is at stud.”
Kementari will stand at a fee of $33,000 including GST.