An hour and a half before Contributer (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) made it a group double for Godolphin at Warwick Farm, Exosphere (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}) earned a ballot exemption for the G1 Golden Slipper S. when losing his rivals en route to a four-length victory in the G2 Skyline S. The dark bay has followed an usual path to the top of his generation as after finishing last of seven on debut at Rosehill, he was directed to the less prestigious Kembla Grange for his second outing Feb. 14. He showed a different attitude altogether that day, powering 4 1/2 lengths clear of his stablemate Mogador (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}), who re-opposed Saturday.
Off to a steady start, Exosphere traveled at the rear of the seven-runner field before starting to pick off runners around the bend and entering the straight widest of all. In a matter of strides, James McDonald had his mount in a clear lead, which only widened in the closing stages. Mogador finished third, about the same margin adrift of the winner as on their previous encounter, but was demoted to fourth for causing interference. John O'Shea was not surprised with Exosphere's performance, saying, “He was always a very nice horse early on. He trialled the same day as [fellow Golden Slipper contender] Furnaces and they both won by six lengths. Furnaces won his debut race and this fellow just didn't have a good day at the races. It is nice for Sheikh Mohammed to have a couple of nice Lonhro's coming through the grades.” The trainer said Exosphere would now head straight for the Golden Slipper, Mar. 21.
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