Khalid Abdullah's G2 Jockey Club S. winner Exosphere (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}) has been sold to a syndicate to continue his racing career in Australia and will be trained by Lee and Anthony Freedman. Melbourne businessman and syndicate member Ozzie Kheir told g1x.com.au the 4-year-old Exosphere would target the G1 Caulfield Cup Oct. 15–for which he is currently favourite–and the G1 Melbourne Cup Nov. 1 before looking ahead to further international targets.
“The idea was to buy a horse to win the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup, and then train on to run at the Hong Kong International meeting and hopefully earn an invitation to the Japan Cup,” Kheir said. “We bought him to run in the best races around the world.”
Exosphere bested last year's G1 St Leger winner Simple Verse (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}) by four lengths in the Apr. 30 Jockey Club, and tailed off to be eighth in Royal Ascot's G2 Hardwicke S. June 18. He was third back at Newmarket in the G2 Princess of Wales's S. July 7 and was beaten 4 1/2 lengths when fifth behind Postponed (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Juddmonte International S. Aug. 17.
“He's had excuses in three runs since [the Jockey Club] win, but his times say that he's a high-class horse,” Kheir added. “We left no stone unturned to make sure he was a prospect worth buying.”
The deal to buy Exosphere also included an agreement for the syndicate to send three mares to be covered by Juddmonte's Frankel (GB) Southern Hemisphere time.
Exosphere will be renamed before racing in Australia, with Godolphin's high-class sprinter of the same name having been recently retired to stud.
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