Reason behind State Squad’s surprise flop last start at The Valley missing from stewards’ report

A key detail was missing from the stewards’ report as Reece Goodwin’s stayer State Squad seeks to make amends this weekend.

State Squad will be back on track at Geelong this weekend. Picture: Racing Photos

Sometimes the stewards’ report doesn’t quite produce the full story behind a race.

That was the case for the Reece Goodwin-trained State Squad after the stayer turned in what initially looked to be an ordinary second-up run at The Valley last month.

State Squad went down narrowly in a Benchmark 64 race at Geelong first-up but went from travelling comfortably to going backwards in a matter of strides at The Valley.

State Squad finished almost six lengths from the winner Call The Union in the 2040m race but Goodwin quickly found the son of Lucas Cranach had a problem.

“It’s funny. It’s not in the stewards’ report but he pulled up coughing pretty badly,” Goodwin said.

“Sometimes that’s a pretty good indication that a horse has had a bleed but luckily they have scopes on track so I asked to have him scoped.

“He actually had a heap of dirt in his windpipe.

“It was a massive amount. Even the vet was quite surprised and couldn’t believe how much there was.

“It looked like it was a bit of a head-scratching run but there was a genuine excuse for us.”

Call The Union gets it done 🐎

Great ride by Celine Gaudray 👌 pic.twitter.com/td9XL7eN9U

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) December 23, 2023

Goodwin has accepted to run State Squad in Saturday’s Canadian Club Handicap (2400m) at Geelong as well as a 2080m Benchmark 64 race at Cranbourne on Friday night.

The Pakenham trainer said State Squad had done well since The Valley disappointment.

He said the six-year-old would be competitive in either contest.

“It’s a matter of getting the right race for him as he’s a real staying type,” Goodwin said.

“Barrier draws and how strong the races come up will help us decide.

“Obviously the Geelong race will be stronger as it’s worth $100,000 but Friday night is worth only 40 grand

“His first-up run was really good at Geelong so hopefully he can bounce back.”

TAB rated State Squad a $9.50 chance to score at Cranbourne and $31 to get the money at Geelong.

Originally published as Reason behind State Squad’s surprise flop last start at The Valley missing from stewards’ report