Last year’s now-retired Cox Plate winner stacks up well among Cox Plate-winning stallions
Given State Of Rest will not be defending his Cox Plate crown, therefore denying him the chance to elevate his peak Timeform rating, we can now assess where he fits in among the other Cox Plate winners who have gone to stud.
The son of Starspangledbanner will stand at Newgate Farm in Australia this time next year and the team associated with him can rest comfortable in the knowledge that his numbers marry up favourably with Cox Plate winners to have done well at stud.
State Of Rest rated 125 when he defeated Anamoe in last year's Cox Plate but has won two subsequent Group 1s, including the Prince Of Wales's Stakes (2000m) at Royal Ascot, where he elevated his peak rating to 127.
So You Think (High Chaparral) is the benchmark when it comes to Cox Plate-winning colts or entires, rating 132 in 2010, a mark he bettered a week later when he went 133+ in the Mackinnon Stakes (2000m), but State Of Rest's peak figure is better than the two other best-performed stallions to have won the Cox Plate in the last 25 years.
Savabeel (Zabeel) posted 122 in winning the 2004 edition, which was his career peak, while Shamus Award (Snitzel) went 124 when breaking his maiden nine years later and that remained his career-best mark.
Savabeel has won the past eight New Zealand Champion Sire awards and stands for a private fee at Waikato Stud, while Shamus Award this year had his fee elevated to $88,000 by Rosemont Stud.
The two other Cox Plate-winning males at stud in the past 25 years are Adelaide (Galileo) and Ocean Park (Thorn Park), who both recorded a career-best 128 in their Cox Plate wins.
Adelaide's career hasn't hit the heights Coolmore would have hoped but boasts a Group 1 winner in Funstar, while Ocean Park has had success in New Zealand where he stands at Waikato Stud for NZ$30,000.
His most prolific Group 1 performer is Tofane, a four-time winner at the highest level, while Kolding won an Epsom Handicap (1600m), George Main Stakes (1600m) and All Aged Stakes (1400m) plus the first edition of the rich Golden Eagle (1500m).
