The Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) could have a new serious player in the mix after Godolphin’s Exosphere blew away his rivals to win the Group 2 Skyline Stakes (1200m) at Warwick Farm Saturday afternoon.
Exosphere has put his name in the mix for the Group 1 Golden Slipper after winning the Skyline Stakes. Photo by Steve Hart.
The two-year-old colt was near the back of the seven-horse field after jumping, he gradually made his way up the field but was the widest runner on the turn for home off the leaders.
Coming down the outside, the colt started to finish fast and with a great turn of foot put four lengths between himself and the rest of the field in just one stride. Rodney Northam‘s Odyssey Moon was in second place while Wolf Cry and Mogador battled it out for third in a photo.
Exosphere was very late after jumping but still managed to absolutely destroy his rivals, which means Godolphin could have a new number one runner heading towards the $3.5 million Golden Slipper on March 21.
“We’re mindful of the opposition but we’ll have to see what James (McDonald, jockey) thinks of him,” O’Shea said.
“He was always a really nice horse early, he trailed the same day as Furnaces and they both won, he’s always been highly thought of by the team.”
The Godolphin stables will now have three top-class juveniles in the mix for the 2015 Golden Slipper – Furnaces, Haptic, and Exosphere. The latest contender will not have another start before March 21.
“We’re very happy to be in this position but there’s a lot of work we’ve got to put in in the coming weeks,” he continued.
James McDonald delivered the winning ride aboard Exosphere and will have a massive decision to make in the coming weeks about which juvenile he partners in the Golden Slipper. The hoop stated he would be leaving it to the bosses to decide his ride.
“Keeping these Inglis jockeys off [Exosphere] is going to be the hardest thing,” he joked after the win.
“He’s a really nice horse, they went out at a decent tempo which was just too good for him but he showed his class.
“If I had it all over again I probably would have sat a bit longer, he got there and just started star gazing a bit but it was an impressive win.”
Exosphere was the $2.40 favourite in the Skyline Stakes betting at Ladbrokes.com.au and is sure to shoot right up to the Golden Slipper futures betting in the coming days.
2015 Skyline Stakes Race Results & Finishing Order
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | EXOSPHERE | John O’Shea | James McDonald | – | 1 | 55.5kg | $2.40F |
| 2 | 1 | ODYSSEY MOON | Rodney Northam | Tye Angland | 4L | 2 | 55.5kg | $14 |
| 3 | 4 | WOLF CRY | Peter & Paul Snowden | Hugh Bowman | 6L | 4 | 55.5kg | $4 |
| 4 | 6 | MOGADOR | John O’Shea | James Doyle | 6.1L | 6 | 55.5kg | $11 |
| 5 | 3 | SEBRING SUN | Gary Portelli | Blake Shinn | 7L | 7 | 55.5kg | $3.70 |
| 6 | 2 | SALERNO | Paul Perry | Jim Cassidy | 12.7L | 5 | 55.5kg | $31 |
| 7 | 7 | SUN FLASH | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Tommy Berry | 14.5L | 3 | 55.5kg | $51 |
