Cover image courtesy of Newgate Farm
The son of Starspanngledbanner will kick off his career in the breeding barn at the Cashman family's Rathbarry Stud in County Cork, before covering his first book of mares at Newgate Farm in 2023.
The decision to prematurely pull the pin on the 4-year-old’s racing career was made after Racing Victoria found an issue in an MRI scan that would prevent him travelling to Australia.
“I am very philosophical about it, everything happens for a reason. He has put up an incredible 3-year-old and 4-year-old season from all corners of the globe. He is a horse of great tenacity, talent and toughness,” Henry Field told TDN AusNZ on Wednesday.
"I am very philosophical about it, everything happens for a reason. He (State Of Rest) has put up an incredible 3-year-old and 4-year-old season from all corners of the globe." - Henry Field
Exceptional record
Trained by Joseph O’Brien, State Of Rest’s win in the Moonee Valley Group 1 was sandwiched between elite-level triumphs in the G1 Derby Invitational at Saratoga in the US and G1 Prix Ganay at Longchamp in France before a third placing, beaten less than a length, in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh in Ireland on May 22.
The 4-year-old enhanced his stud credentials even further when he beat a high-class field in the G1 Prince Of Wales’s S. at Royal Ascot in June. However he was most recently seen producing an uncharacteristic lacklustre display in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville, a performance which left Field and the horse's other partners perplexed.
“We walked away from Deauville the other day scratching our heads and I suppose, he’s a horse on a bad day that runs fourth in the Group 1, so when he ran out the back the other day we were quite surprised,” he explained.
“The beauty of the MRI scan, you get a more in depth of what is happening and obviously there was an issue that had developed, more than likely in that run, so he ruled himself out from coming to the Cox Plate.”
Field and a group of well-known Australian owners which includes China Horse Club, whose silks he carried to victory at Royal Ascot, SF Bloodstock, Matthew Sandblom, Laurel Oak Bloodstock, Silverdale Farm, Cunningham Thoroughbreds, Corumbene Stud, Glenlogan Park Stud and Dorrington Farm, swooped for the entire following his win in the G1 Cox Plate.
“We are very proud of his achievements,” he said. “He is owned by a great syndicate of people and we all enjoyed a wonderful Royal Ascot together. We have enjoyed the ride following this horse from when he won the Cox Plate through until his retirement yesterday (Monday).”
Henry Field
To win a race at Royal Ascot had always been a personal goal of Field’s and he said the horse provided him with the experience of a lifetime.
“What he has done since that Moonee Valley win has been the icing on the cake and for me personally, just to win a race race at Royal Ascot, let alone one of the feature time-honoured Group 1 races, has been one of my lifelong goals. To have achieved it with such a good horse, who produced such a great race is something I will cherish forever,” he said.
Illustrious group of colts
Born in the Northern Hemisphere, State Of Rest was classed as a 4-year-old in Australia when he won the Moonee Valley feature, but was technically still a 3-year-old and when he landed the Group 1 he joined an illustrious group of other 3-three-year colts such as Shamus Award, So You Think (NZ), Savabeel and Octagonal (NZ) who were triumphant in the race, before going on to prove to be some on the best stallions in Australasia.
“Three-year-olds who win the Cox Plate have an unbelievable record at stud, probably as good a record as any race in the Southern Hemisphere, if not better,” explained Field.
“Recent 3-year-old colts to win the Cox Plate include Shamus Award, So You Think and Savabeel and they are all excellent sires and we are hopeful this horse can do the same. All those horses were top-class and this guy has top-class Cox Plate form and showed it off to win Group 1s in the United States, France and the United Kingdom.
“He will retire to Rathbarry Stud in Ireland and shuttle to Newgate in 2023. We will put all our resources behind the horse and do everything we can to develop him into the next Shamus Award, So You Think or Savabeel.”
“We will put all our resources behind the horse (State Of Rest) and do everything we can to develop him into the next Shamus Award, So You Think or Savabeel.” - Henry Field
Field said he had been on the hunt to stand a stallion with the ability to produce a distance type of horse and when State Of Rest became available after the G1 Cox Plate, he decided to take the leap of faith.
“We were trying to target a middle-distance stallion that can be a great source of Classic horses bred off the farm and we took the view that the best source of middle distance sires in Australasia in the last decade has been the Cox Plate, so when a Cox Plate winner became available we were quick to acquire him,” said Field.
“It’s not just about him winning the Cox Plate, it was who he had to beat when he did it. He had to beat the Australian Champion 3-Year-Old in Anamoe and the Australian Horse of the Year and subsequent Melbourne Cup winner in Verry Elleegant, amongst a host of other Group 1 winners, so the form stacks up.
State Of Rest (Ire) winning the G1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
“If someone asked me the question of why I think 3-year-olds who win the Cox Plate have such a good record at stud, the reality is it takes an elite athlete and an elite racehorse to win a Cox Plate, especially as a 3-year-old, it is not an easy feat.
“If you take the view, as many people do, that the best racehorse makes the best stallion, he has shown time after time he is an exceptional racehorse.”
O'Brien: A child prodigy
Purchased by Diamond Bloodstock for 45,000gns (AU$78,000) at the Tattersalls December Foals Sale in 2018, State Of Rest was then re-offered the following year and was bought by his trainer and Aiden O’Ryan for 60,000gns (AU$104,000) at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
State Of Rest is out of unraced mare Repose (USA) (Quiet American {USA}), making him a half-brother to Group 3 scorer Tranquil Lady (Ire) (Australia {GB}). Repose made headlines recently when she was purchased by Juddmonte Farms, having been formerly owned by Dermot Cantillon and Meta Osborne of Tinnakill House.
Meta Osborne and Dermot Cantillon with Repose (USA) and her Sea The Stars (Ire) filly
State Of Rest retires the winner of five of his 13 starts and with $5,226,940 in prizemoney.
He enters stud as the only horse in history to have won three consecutive Group/Grade 1 races in as many different continents and Field was quick to heap praise on his young trainer for his handling of the horse.
“I have described Joseph before as a child prodigy and I truly believe that. He has an extraordinary brain, a great vision and a phenomenal horseman,” Field continued.
“I have described Joseph (O'Brien) before as a child prodigy and I truly believe that. He has an extraordinary brain, a great vision and a phenomenal horseman.” - Henry Field
“He is a disciple of his trade and this horse has helped the ownership group build a great relationship with Joseph. It has been a very special ride for us all.”
