Rest state Coach Joseph O’Brien has announced he will not defend his Ladbrokes Cox Plate (G1) crown and has immediately retired.
The 4-year-old, who also won the Prince of Wales (G1) at Royal Ascot this summer, was targeted to defend his Moonee Valley crown in October, but an MRI scan led by Racing Victoria exec has detected the problem, which means he will not pass the necessary protocols to get to Melbourne.
O’Brien said: “Everybody here at Carriganog Racing is very disappointed that State Of Rest’s racing career has come to an abrupt end. And he delivers all the time.
“He’s won group/class 1 races on three different continents in a wide variety of tracks, ground conditions and race pacing. It’s all the same.
“We will miss him dearly, but we look forward to training his descendants in the years to come.”
The Starsangledbanner Colt won only once in six starts at the age of 2 but has developed into a prolific player at the highest level, winning the Saratoga Derby (G1T) in the US and Cox Plate in Australia at the age of 3.
He has since enhanced his reputation near his home country with two European group 1 races this season, first in the Prix Ganay (G1) at Longchamp and then under great leadership. by Shane Crosse in Prince of Wales.
He disappointed in his final start, finishing eighth of nine runners in this month’s Prix Jacques le Marois (G1). He has earned relationships just over £2.9m in prize money.
This story will be updated.
