Roaring Lion fresh in the memory as Kameko shows immense promise in the Solario

A crumb of comfort was offered by the most appropriate of sources on Saturday as the Qatar Racing and Tweenhills clan regroup following the death of Roaring Lion.

The loss of its talisman following a spirited recovery from two colic operations a week ago has hit the camp hard, being its most successful racehorse and an essentially irreplaceable stallion as a four-time Group 1 winner and seasonal champion.

Although it would be grossly premature to describe Kameko as anything other than a bright prospect at this stage, David Redvers, owner of Tweenhills and manager of Sheikh Fahad Al Thani’s Qatar Racing string, recognised a certain poignance after he failed by a nose to run down Positive in Sandown’s ever-informative Solario Stakes.

Not only does the Andrew Balding-trained Kameko, who was stepping up to Group 3 level after landing his sole start over course and distance, share Roaring Lion’s sire Kitten’s Joy, he is also a graduate of the same Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

"He was momentarily a bit green, he’d just run in a maiden and the winner had been second in a Group 2 at Goodwood, so you’d like to think that he would improve again for that," Redvers said. "We’d be thinking of probably going straight to a mile now because that’s what he’s screaming out for.

"He’s another example of the good that Kitten’s Joy puts into horses in that he tries and tries. To see the penny drop at the end of the race and watch him rally again showed that we should have a bit of fun with him, thank god."

Kitten's Joy: Hill 'N Dale stallion sired both Roaring Lion and KamekoCredit: Michele MacDonald

At $90,000, Kameko’s purchase price was not exactly chicken feed but nonetheless fairly low in terms of racing’s high table.

"He was cheap - he was out of a Grade 3 winner [Sweeter Still] but the most gorgeous model of a horse," Redvers explained.

"Although the mare was a very good racemare, she has changed hands recently for buttons because she hadn’t been a great producer so far. He stood out for us as the Kitten’s Joy from that sale that we really liked, in the same way that Roaring Lion had a couple of years previously.

"We were delighted to get him for $90,000 but there was always that slight caveat in the back of our minds that the mare hadn’t done it yet, but she’s done it now."

Kameko, useful as he might be, transparently does not salve much of the pain over Roaring Lion, for whom affection from his connections runs deeper than platitudes or financial imperative. The four-year-old had covered his first crop at Tweenhills in Gloucestershire and had shuttled to New Zealand, where intestinal problems set in.

"It’s been a very tough week getting over the last one, it’s been brutal really," said Redvers. "He was our flagship horse and a very special horse to boot, and he’s a bit of a mate, he lived outside our kitchen window for nine months and we all became very fond of him at Tweenhills, and obviously Sheikh Fahad and [wife] Melissa were terribly fond of him as well.

"What has been fascinating is seeing how it has affected all those at Cambridge Equine Hospital and Cambridge Stud, they all got so incredibly fond of the horse - you couldn’t help to once you got to know him - and he fought so incredibly hard to survive. With adhesions post colic surgery, just when you think everything is going well, they close off and that’s that."

Through an open policy with the public and media, Roaring Lion had gained a large fanclub and Redvers also voiced his appreciation of it.

He said: "The volume of support has been absolutely incredible, perhaps with him being such an iconic-looking horse. He’s buried now at Cambridge Stud and when I go to New Zealand I’ll go and see him."

David Redvers says that the death of Roaring Lion has been felt strongly through TweenhillsCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

The wheel must continue to turn. Qatar Racing enjoyed a notable success Stateside on Friday through Square Deal in the I'm Smoking Stakes at Del Mar, and earlier in the week Redvers had managed another significant achievement in seeing the only representative of first-crop German stallion Amaron to have appeared in Britain to date winning stylishly in his family silks.

Run Wild, bought for €160,000 in partnership with Meridian International, took a well-bred field apart in a mile novice event at Kempton to put the name of her sire, a multiple Group winner on the continent standing at Gestut Etzean, up in lights.

Redvers explained of the purchase: "I went to Baden-Baden last year and looked at everything, she was by far the standout individual at the sale, the dam line was quite good, and the sire's a son of Shamardal. Amaron was champion miler over there and sometimes you just have to take a punt.

"I think she was one of the top-priced fillies in the sale. I bought her in part with Ghislain Bozo, he’s kept a leg of her, his brother [Henri] has come in for a leg, and off the back of buying her we’ve decided to buy a few more fillies in the Tweenhills fillies syndicate with some friends. She’s our flagship and she does look quite good."

Group targets await, as he confirmed: "We think we’ll go straight for the May Hill next, and depending what happens at Doncaster we’ll know where we are.

"She’s had two sighting runs in a hood before, just to get her to race the right way round, and John [Gosden] is proving yet again why he’s the master trainer: he’s got her beautifully settled. When Oisin Murphy pulled her out and she went six lengths clear in a heartbeat, it was really lovely to see."

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