The Aidan O'Brien trained Order Of Australia was all set to head to Del Mar looking to defend his Breeders' Cup Mile title after landing the event last year but instead has suffering a career-ending injury and will retire to stud.
The four-year-old sustained a small fracture that required an operation on Wednesday morning and with him set to be fine, it will prevent him from racing again and instead will now look to produce some quality offsprings.
Order Of Australia didn’t manage to break his maiden until late into his three year old campaign but really improved for getting his head in front for the first time.
Winning over 10 and 12 furlongs, his biggest success came at the Breeder’s Cup last year at Keeneland where he beat stablemates Circus Maximus and Lope Y Fernandez for Group One spoils.
This term he couldn’t live with the emphatic Palace Pier on seasonal reappearance but after that easily recorded a Group Two success over seven furlongs at the Curragh in the Minstrel Stakes.
That man @PCBOUDOT does it again! Order Of Australia causes a big upset in the @FanDuel @BreedersCup Mile for Aidan O’Brien! @keenelandracing #BC20 pic.twitter.com/31ZXkG99FH
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 7, 2020
He was outclassed in the Sussex Stakes but since then went on to place in the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix du Moulin behind the likes of Baeed and Palace Pier.
The last run of his career came at Keeneland in early October when last of 12 in the Group One Keeneland Turf Mile Stakes, with the prep run for the Breeders' Cup not going to plan.
(Credit ATR) “He ran some very good races this year. At Keeneland he was a bit slowly away and it didn’t work for him, but he’s had a bit of a setback,” said O’Brien.
“He won’t get to race again. He had a small fracture and had a pin put in it this morning, but the operation and everything went well. He will go off to stud now.”
O'Brien is now set to just be triple handed in America at the start of November with Mother Earth going for the Breeders' Cup Mile, Love going for either the Filly & Mare Turf or Breeders’ Cup Turf and Japan a possibility in the Breeders’ Cup Turf aswell.