State Of Rest

The Joseph O’Brien-trained Galileo Chrome stole a lot of the headlines last Saturday with a game and classy performance to win the St Leger, but the performance that his stable companion State Of Rest put up in finishing third in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes earlier on the day may have gone a little under the radar.

Settled nicely just behind the leaders early on by Tom Marquand, the Starspangledbanner colt came under a ride on the run to the two-furlong marker as Chindit and Albasheer moved up easily on either side of him. He could have wilted at that point and faded out of it, but he responded well to pressure. He kept on well between the the two market leaders, despite the fact that it got a little bit tight, and, while if never really looked like he was going to overhaul them, he stayed on gallantly all the way to the line to get to within a short head of runner-up Albarsheer, just a length behind Chindit, with the three of them clear.

A close-up fifth in the Group 3 Tyros Stakes at Leopardstown last month, Joseph O’Brien’s colt ran a big race to finish fourth in the Ballyhane Stakes at Naas on his last run before Saturday when, switched behind runners to the near side by Declan McDonogh, he did best of the low-drawn horses, staying on well late on to get up for fourth place, just missing out on third. This was a step forward from that, and there is every chance that he can step forward again now. His dam is a half-sister to Echo River, who finished second in a May Hill Stakes over a mile as a juvenile, and to Prince Alzain, who won a listed race over 10 furlongs, and State Of Rest could improve again for a step up to a mile. He holds entries in the Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket and in the Beresford Stakes at The Curragh over that distance on Saturday, and he will be of interest if he lines up in either contest.

Doncaster, 12^th September 2020