Unfinished family business for ‘explosive’ Kementari, the image of his sire

When Kementari contests Saturday’s G1 Doncaster Mile at Randwick, he will be attempting to lay to rest a family ‘ghost’ of more than two decades.

Lonhro, his sire, was one of Australia’s greatest racehorses in the past 50 years, winning 26 of his 35 starts, including 11 races at G1 level.

But despite a record that draws comparisons with Kingston Town and Tulloch, two other prolific champions, the Doncaster Mile was one major race that proved a stumbling block for the future Darley stallion.

In 2002, Lonhro enjoyed a higher profile than Kementari early in his three-year-old career and was an automatic form choice to land the Doncaster. But the colt picked up a virus and missed the feature race.

The following year, Lonhro made it to the starting gate in the Doncaster, but with top weight of 57.5kg (9st 1lb), he was beaten into fourth by Grand Armee, who received 6kg (13lb).

Godolphin’s Darren Beadman rode Lonhro 23 times for 17 wins, and he has watched at close hand the progress Kementari, the next generation, has made during his three-year-old career.

“Yes, he reminds me of Lonhro. He has that same explosive turn-of-foot, and the same wonderful attitude. He has a great demeanour, and he’s furnishing into a nice stallion,” Beadman said.

“James (Cummings) has used kid gloves in the way he has brought him along, and going for the Doncaster in preference to the G1 Rosehill Guineas was the right option.

“His time in winning the G1 Randwick Guineas was very good. He obviously likes Randwick,” he pointed out.

As for the Doncaster itself, Beadman is confident Kementari is fully equipped for the challenge he faces in Australia’s biggest ‘mile.’

“He’s got great tactical speed, and he can get way from the gates quickly. He is not one-dimensional. He has a lot of strings to his bow,” he said.

For the record, Lonhro bounced back from his fourth in the 2003 Doncaster to win the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes one week later.