Exosphere stamped himself as a leading contender for the 2015 Golden Rose Stakes with a most impressive victory in the 2015 Run To The Rose at Rosehill Gardens this afternoon.
Exopshere returned to racing with a very soft win in the 2015 Run To The Rose at Rosehill Gardens this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart
Exosphere has not been seen at the races since he finished at the tail of the field in the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 21 and he was settled towards the tail of the field in the early stages of the Run To The Rose.
Odds-on favourite Japonisme received a lovely run into the race, but he failed to respond when he was asked for an extra effort and it was Exosphere that stormed down the outside of the field in the final stages of the race to record a classy victory.
Trainer John O’Shea was bullish about the chances of Exopshere in the Run To The Rose, but he was quick to pay credit to the rest of the team at Godolphin and he confirmed that the Lonhro colt will press on to the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens in a fortnight.
“I think a lot of the credit goes to our team out at the farm,” O’Shea said.
“They prepared him extremely well and Sam rode a cool race.
“He was there to educate his horse first and make sure that he had a lovely day out and he did that.
“It is a wonderful team effort and the team at home at Osborne should be very proud.
“He was soft late, he didn’t have a hard run and he should go forward from that.
“We know that he is a class horse and he just had an aberration in the Slipper.
“We have learn a lot more about him and hopefully going forward he can still continue to race well.
“You will see him in the Rose in a fortnight.”
Clipperton has taken full advantage of the opportunities presented to him by Godolphin following the suspension of James McDonald and the Run To The Rose victory of Exosphere gave him a feature race double after he took out the Premier’s Cup with Magic Hurricane.
Clipperton admitted that he thought Exopshere might struggle to beat up his rivals after giving them a big start heading into the straight. But he was delighted with the way that the three-year-old finished off the race.
“It is a big thrill,” Clipperton said.
“He is a lovely horse in the making and he is a serious racehorse actually.
“He went past a small but competitive field with a lot of ease and it was only his first-up effort.
“I had to switch across the two main chances heels and they had the momentum on me, but for my horse to pick himself up with 59 was an almighty effort.
“It just goes to show how good of a horse he is.”
Exosphere and runner-up Press Statement have both been shortened into 2015 Golden Rose Stakes odds of $6, while Vancouver remains a clear favourite at a quote of $2.70.
