There are many prominent stallions still searching for their first two-year-old winner of the season, one of which is Lonhro.
The champion Darley stallion will be favoured to correct that anomaly when Kementari’s sister Laurelin makes her much anticipated debut in Saturday’s Schweppes Hcp on the Kensington track at Randwick.
It will be a big 24 hours for Godolphin. At Flemington on Friday the royal blue will be carried by three fillies in the opening event over 1000m.
The Brazen Beau filly Andalusia and the Frosted (USA) filly Translation both finished runner-up on debut, but the Frosted (USA) Frost Flowers is being kept very safe in the market for her career debut.
The race will also see the second starter for the Darley stallion Holler. She is the Kevin Corstens-trained Loud Attraction who will be trying to go two places better than Holler’s first starter, Scream Queen who is also trained by Corstens.
Laurelin is sure to be favoured at her first assignment at Randwick on Saturday following a hugely impressive barrier trial win at Canterbury on December 15.
The daughter of Lonhro is the sixth foal of top-producing Redoute’s Choice mare Yavanna, a daughter of the dual Group III winner Wild Queen (Loup Sauvage) who was purchased by Darley as a yearling for $260,000.
Kementari (Steve Hart)
From the incomparable Denise's Joy family, Yavanna started five times for wins at Cranbourne and Sandown and was second at Mornington.
The first foal of Yavanna was the Listed Lonhro Plate winner and Group 1 ATC Sires' Produce Stakes runner-up Telperion (Street Cry).
The second foal was Kemenari. The Hollywood handsome son of Lonhro defeated Pierata and Trapeze Artist in the Group 1 ATC Randwick Guineas in 2018 after defeating Pierata and D'argento in the Hobartville Stakes.
It has been well recorded that Kementari failed to measure up in the breeding shed. He was gelded and put back into work.
On the day that Kementari returned to the winners stall in the Group III A J Scahill Stakes at Ascot, his half-brother Telperion went to the top of the first season sires list in New Zealand when his son Stormy claimed the Group II Wakefield Challenge at Trentham.
New Zealand's leading first season sire Telperion stands at Westbury Stud
Yavanna is also the dam of the stakes-placegetters Valaquenta (Street Boss) and Palurien (Reset).
After foaling another Lonhro filly late in 2019, Yavanna had a year off last year. Her dam Wild Queen is still going strong. The 20yo daughter of Loup Sauvage (USA) foaled an Impending colt on October 1.
Wild Queen's 4yo daughter Varda (Lonhro), a three-quarter sister to Kementari and Laurelin, reeled off four consecutive wins at Canterbury, Rosehill (x2) and Randwick in July/August and just missed black-type when fourth in the Listed Century Stakes on Victoria Oaks day at Flemington.
