Charismatic black Lonhro stallion Kementari was a Group I star on the track for Godolphin and there was huge expectation when ‘Special K’ retired to Darley last spring, but as is sadly sometimes the case things did not go according to plan.
Kementari was set to cover a full book of quality mares at a fee of $33,000 and Godolphin had sold breeding rights in him to some of the best breeders in the land, but sadly for his fans Kementari proved all but infertile.
Just two of the 53 mares Kementari covered in 2019 tested positive and they are Bernardini (USA) mare With Care, a smart winner from the family of Group III winners Arbeitsam and Payroll; and Encosta de Lago mare Mithila, a half-sister to Group III winner Murjana from the Twyla branch of the Dancing Show family.
Mithila has produced a filly and With Care delivered a colt on September 6 that is owned by Avesta Bloodstock.
Kementari was gelded and put back into work, so this unique colt is the only male descendant there will ever be for a stallion that could very well have written another chapter in the Lonhro sireline success story.
With Care was offered at the 2020 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale where she was snapped up by Jimmy Unwala’s Avesta Bloodstock.
"The main attraction was of course to get a foal by Kementari as he was a proper Group I horse, and I knew only two mares were in-foal to him, but I do like Bernardini mares as they are easy to mate, and he is turning out to be a serious broodmare sire,” Unwala revealed.
“It was a win-win to my thinking when she came up for auction.”
With Care and her prized colt are located at Toolooganvale Stud in the Hunter Valley under the care of proprietor Geoff Harris and his team.
"He is an absolute farm favourite, my staff adore the handsome fella and he is of course a limited edition,” Harris said.
“But putting aside the novelty factor, he is muscular and athletic. He would be a syndicator's delight."
It’s not hard to see this colt as a must inspect on every agent’s list come sale time in 2022.
"I own him with a group of like-minded people and friends and we buy to trade stock commercially, so the plan is to offer him as a yearling eventually if all goes to plan,” Unwala concluded.
“We would be very tempted to keep a leg in him though as at the end of the day, this colt is a little piece of history."
