Group One winner Awesome Rock has been retired
Group One winner Awesome Rock has been retired, with connections now looking for a suitable home at stud.
The Leon and Troy Corstens-trained Awesome Rock won the Group One Emirates Stakes at Flemington last spring but failed to fire in his most recent starts this preparation, including when ninth in Saturday’s Australian Cup.
Plans to go to Dubai for this month’s Dubai Turf at Meydan were shelved after his Australian Cup performance and the decision was made on Monday afternoon to retire him.
“He hasn’t raced up to expectations and we think the inoculations have flattened him,” Troy Corstens said.
“So after careful consideration with the ownership group the decision was made to retire him.
“Now we’ll negotiate a sale to a stud and hopefully we can find a very nice stud where he’s going to blossom.”
Corstens said Awesome Rock had been a fantastic horse for the stable and his connections.
Awesome Rock won four of his 28 starts with another seven placings for prize money of just over $2 million.
Along with his Emirates Stakes win last spring, Awesome Rock also won a Group Two Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes and was first past the post in last year’s Australian Cup only to be relegated to second on protest.
