The 4-year-old White Birch will not return this season following a hock injury. Originally aiming for the Irish Champions Stakes (G1) on September 14, trainer George Murphy announced on September 2 that the horse would be sidelined for the remainder of the year. Winner of the Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1) and unbeaten in three starts this year, White Birch had been preparing for the highly anticipated race.
"Unfortunately, White Birch will miss the rest of the season," said Murphy, son of the trainer John Murphy. "He has strained a near hock, and the prognosis is that he will require three to four weeks off, which means he won't have enough time to prepare for the remainder of our planned races. We look forward to seeing him back on the track next season."
Before the injury, the grey horse was the 6-1 third favourite for the Royal Bahrain-backed Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, trailing only Economics and Auguste Rodin in the ante-post betting. He had been impressive this season, finishing three lengths ahead of Auguste Rodin in his last race on May 26 at The Curragh, where he achieved a Racing Post Rating of 125.
There have been a few near misses since then. He was expected to run in the Eclipse Stakes (G1) at Sandown, but was withdrawn due to subpar bloodwork results. Additionally, connections decided against entering him in last month’s Juddmonte International (G1), as they felt he was not yet back to full fitness.