Baaeed vs State Of Rest set for Goodwood Sussex Stakes

The four-year-old State Of Rest put Sir Michael Stoute's Bay Bridge to the sword in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Ascot and will now try to break Baeed's unbeaten record.

"State Of Rest may come back to a mile for his next run," said O'Brien.

"We are looking at the Sussex, even though I didn't enter him! He could end up being supplemented for that.

"We are also looking at the Jacques le Marois and the Juddmonte. The Eclipse will come a bit soon, I'd say.

"He's shown loads of speed on his last couple of runs."

Australian connections the State Of Rest Partnership will likely favour a trip Down Under at some point.

Henry Field, co-owner and managing director of Newgate Stud, told Racing.com: "Joseph O'Brien, who many consider the child prodigy - the best young trainer on the planet - he loves Australia. Australia's his special place.

"He's a horse that's won Group Ones in America, France, one of the most prestigious Group Ones at Royal Ascot and a Cox Plate.

"It would be very special to try to put back-to-back Cox Plates together and I think Joseph thinks this is the horse to do it.

"He loves the horse, it's rare that I've heard a trainer speak as fondly about a horse as I've heard Joseph speaking about this horse.

"That's testimony to the fact that he's just a tough animal, he's very talented, he's very consistent and he just gives you his all.

"He's a very rare animal, this horse, and I think back-to-back Cox Plates would be very fitting on his resume and he'd be very hard to beat."

A Breeders' Cup run is not out of the question but the Cox Plate could be State Of Rest's final run before retirement to stud.

"He's a four-year-old now and he's really got nothing left to prove, he's won the biggest Group Ones in both hemispheres, I would say that would be his swansong," said Field.

"More than likely he will go to the Cox Plate, it's possible he could go to the Breeders' Cup in Kentucky in November but the Cox Plate is the more likely target.

"It would add great theatre to the race to have this horse who came on the radar of so many people in the Cox Plate last year - it's made him who he is."

"I think he's second-favourite in the market at the moment, Jamie Spencer was mad keen to keep the ride. I think he'll go to that race with a huge chance."