Darley Australia’s Gr1 winning stallion Kementari will return to racing in 2020 as a gelding.
Retired in March on the back of a season that yielded three placings at the highest level, Kementari began covering his first book of mares at Kelvinside at an introductory fee of AU$33,000.
He had bookings of well over 150 mares before problems arose.
Kementari in action before his retirement (Pic – Godolphin)
While the Mostyn Copper Group Randwick Guineas winner had pregnancies confirmed early on, subsequent veterinary analysis classified him as an unsatisfactory breeder.
“This is obviously a disappointment for the team and our clients. Kementari was an outstanding racehorse and a most impressive individual,” said Alastair Pulford, head of sales at Darley Stallions.
“We sympathize with all our clients who had been looking forward to their mares delivering foals by Kementari, and we ensure we are doing everything we can to accommodate them and arrange for alternative matings.As well as being a blow for Darley, this is a blow for the Australian breeding industry, which has been served so well by Lonhro and his sire sons—horses such as Pierro and Denman with others like Exosphere and Impending showing great potential.”
Over the past weekend, Godolphin representatives confirmed the son of champion sire Lonhro is located at Agnes Banks ahead of his anticipated return to training in 2020 for James Cummings.
Racing.com reports that news of Kementari’s imminent return will cause some punters to shudder as the 2018 Randwick Guineas winner broke plenty of hearts on the racetrack – he suffered four Gr1 defeats by under a length and four defeats as favourite at Gro1 level during his 19-start career.
Kementari is one of nine Godolphin-owned horses to have been beaten favourite in an Australian Gr1 race on at least three occasions since August 2010.
