Kementari luckless but gallant in G1 Memsie Stakes

A second G1 win narrowly eluded Kementari at Caulfeld on Saturday, but the colt nevertheless produced a career-best performance in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield.

After racing wide throughout and being hampered in the final 200m, Kementari went down by a short-head to Humidor in a race that left connections lamenting his defeat, but in awe of his ability.

“It’s very disappointing to be beaten like that, but I can’t tell you how proud I am of the horse,” said trainer James Cummings.

“That was an enormous effort, only a very good horse could have done what he did.”

Kementari came under riding with 300m remaining of the 1,400m race. But as the pressure increased, the son of Lonhro found more and was finishing the best of any runner.

The finish was a replica of the Caulfield Guineas of last spring when Kementari failed narrowly when beaten by Mighty Boss who, like Humidor, had the benefit of a rails run.

The rider of Humidor, Damian Lane, received a 10-meeting ban for careless riding. The Godolphin team must now decide where Kementari goes next, with the A$13 million The Everest at Randwick on October 13 a possibility.

An alternative will be to remain in Melbourne where the immediate choices include the G1 Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington on 15 September.

“We’ll let the dust settle and we’ll come up with what’s right for the horse,” Cummings said.

A small consolation for Kementari’s defeat was delivered later in the day in Sydney where the imported runner Best Of Days staged an outstanding performance to win the non-graded Heineken 3 Handicap.

The five-year-old, the winner of the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket as a two-year-old oin 2016, was having only his second start in Australia and missed the start badly before producing a withering finish to beat Sir Plush by a long head.