Nature Strip, the two-time Australian Horse of the Year who won nine Group 1 races on two continents as well as the Everest Stakes in Australia in 2021, has been retired. The decision was announced shortly after Nature Strip finished sixth of eight in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday. Nature Strip, 9, was beaten in his last five starts. In the Concorde, he was as close as third in the stretch before fading to finish 5 3/4 lengths behind race winner Remarque. “He wasn’t the same horse in the race today,” trainer Chris Waller told the Australian press. “He’s a sound horse. He’s a happy horse, and that’s how he’ll retire.” :: Get free past performances, analysis, and picks for Australian racing Trained by Waller since the beginning of the 2019 season, Nature Strip began his career with a win in a maiden race at Mornington Racecourse near Melbourne in October 2017 and won 22 of 44 career starts. Nature Strip was honored as the Australian Horse of the Year for the 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 seasons. By Nicconi, Nature Strip won eight Group 1 races in Australia as well as the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in Britain in June 2022 in his only start outside of Australia. Nature Strip’s richest win occurred in the $11.05 million Everest Stakes at six furlongs at Randwick in 2021, a race that is not graded. The race, with a format in which owners purchase starting berths, is Australia’s richest race. Nature Strip was under consideration for the Everest Stakes on Oct. 14 had he performed better in the Concorde, his first start since a fourth-place finish in the Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes at six furlongs at Randwick on April 1. SUNDAY PREVIEW British Statesman won consecutive starts in February at countryside tracks in Australia in the second and third races of his career. A recent trip to Randwick Racecourse in Sydney did not go as well, with the 4-year-old gelding finishing a well-beaten fifth on Aug. 19. British Statesman will return to the countryside for his sixth start in a six-furlong handicap at Queanbeyan Racecourse on Sunday evening. British Statesman starts in the third race on a seven-race program that begins at 11 p.m. Eastern or 8 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. Trained by Gayna Williams, British Statesman was rested after his wins in February. In his comeback, he finished fifth by slightly less than 1 1/2 lengths in a handicap at about 5 1/2 furlongs at Dubbo on July 28, closing from seventh. The Randwick loss was his second start of the comeback. British Statesman is part of a field of 10 at Queanbeyan and is rated as a leading contender along with Saiko, a winner of 2 of 28 starts. Saiko nearly recorded a third win in his last start, finishing second by a head in a six-furlong handicap at Moruya Racecourse on Aug. 20. Saiko is winless in 18 starts since December 2021. The race at Queanbeyan will be his 11th start of 2023. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.