State Of Rest retired after MRI scan reveals issue
Newgate-owned Cox Plate winner will not return to defend title as dual hemisphere stud duties await
Reigning Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) champion State Of Rest (Starspangledbanner) will not return to defend his title at Moonee Valley in October and has been retired, after an MRI scan revealed an issue that has scuppered plans to return to Australia this year.
Owned by a Newgate Farm-led syndicate in conjunction with Rathbarry Stud in Ireland, State Of Rest is the first major international contender for the 2022 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival to fail this year’s stringent Racing Victoria veterinary requirements, which were first introduced ahead of last year’s spring carnival.
The four-year-old entire will now be retired, with co-owners Rathbarry Stud confirming State Of Rest will stand the northern hemisphere season (which begins in February) in Ireland, before shuttling south to Newgate Farm in the Hunter Valley in 2023
A statement released yesterday by trainer Joseph O’Brien read: “State Of Rest will not travel to Australia to defend his title this year. An MRI scan conducted by Racing Victoria has found an issue and as such he will not pass the necessary protocols to travel to Melbourne.
“We feel this explains his poor performance in the Prix Jacques Le Marois. State Of Rest will be retired to stud immediately.”
State Of Rest retires the winner of four Group 1 races in four different countries, having won the Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (Gr 1, 9.5f) in the US in August 2021, two months before his memorable Cox Plate victory, in which he prevailed in an engrossing – and controversial – battle with Godolphin three-year-old Anamoe (Street Boss).
State Of Rest returned to Europe to win the Prix Ganay (Gr 1, 2300m) in France on his seasonal reappearance in May and a crowning victory at Royal Ascot followed in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f).
A return bid for a second Cox Plate was firmly on the agenda for the son of Starspangledbanner (Choisir), until a disappointing performance in the Prix Jacques Le Marois (Gr 1, 1600m) at Deauville on August 14, a race in which he finished eighth of nine runners, cast doubt on his future direction.
Yesterday’s announcement confirmed the horse had run his last race.
“He was without question a remarkably talented, durable and consistent performer,” O’Brien said. “We asked a huge amount of him throughout his career and he delivered every time.
“He won Group/Grade 1 races on three different continents in the face of a wide variety of tracks, ground conditions and race tempos. It all came alike to him. He had the most incredible constitution and will to win.”
A 45,000gns foal before his purchase as a yearling by O’Brien for 60,000gns, State Of Rest won just once in six starts at two, that win coming on debut in June 2020 at Fairyhouse over six furlongs.
At three, State Of Rest raced twice in the northern hemisphere, winning his first elite-level race at Saratoga, before his Cox Plate success in Australia.
His head victory over Anamoe was the subject of controversy when it appeared he may have impeded his Godolphin-owned rival in the straight, but he held the win in the stewards’ room.
State Of Rest’s Cox Plate success prompted his purchase by Rathbarry Stud and a consortium of Australian-based owners, including Newgate Farm and China Horse Club, in whose silks he raced, as well as SF Bloodstock, Matthew Sandblom, Laurel Oak Bloodstock, Cunningham Thoroughbreds, Corumbene Stud, Glenlogan Park Stud, Dorrington Farm and Silverdale Farm, among others.
His new connections celebrated further Group 1 wins this year in France and at Royal Ascot.
He is one of four elite-level winners for former shuttle stallion Starspangledbanner. He is out of Quiet American (Fappiano) mare Repose, making him a half-brother to Group 3–winner Tranquil Lady (Australia). Repose herself is a half-sister to stakes winners Prince Alzain (Street Sense) and Echo River (Irish River).
In heading to stud, State Of Rest will now follow in the path of previous Cox Plate winners: Shamus Award (Snitzel), So You Think (High Chaparral), Ocean Park (O’Reilly), Savabeel (Zabeel) and Adelaide (Galileo).
Racing Victoria has begun conducting MRI scans ahead of the importation of international contenders for this year’s spring carnival, with further results set to be revealed in the coming week ahead of first acceptances for the Cox Plate on September 6.
State Of Rest was the only international runner in last year’s Cox Plate, while his stablemate and 2020 Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Twilight Payment (Teofilo) was one of only two to arrive from Europe for last year’s feature race on the first Tuesday in November, after Racing Victoria introduced extensive veterinary tests, including MRI scans and scintigraphy examinations, in order to combat a number of deaths to horses during the carnival.
This year, with international runners no longer required to undergo a mandatory nuclear scintigraphy test, a number of hopefuls were anticipated to make the trip to Australia to contest races in the spring carnival.
Deauville Legend (Sea The Stars), is the early favourite for the Melbourne Cup, while the Joseph O’Brien-trained Cleveland (Camelot), Simon and Ed Crisford’s Without A Fight (Teofilo) and German-trained Loft (Adlerflug) are among a host of intended European challengers.
However, ahead of State Of Rest’s retirement, Moonee Valley Racing Club CEO Michael Browell yesterday voiced concerns that there may not be any international runners in this year’s Cox Plate, citing ‘little interest’ from other possible overseas contenders.