Exosphere

Exosphere put up a nice performance to win a small-field 190-furlong handicap at Doncaster on Saturday. Settled fourth of the five runners by Ted Durcan through the early stages of the race as favourite Subcontinent set the pace, he moved through nicely along the inside rail at the three-furlong pole, travelling easily as everything else came under pressure. Durcan had to get after two furlongs out to get him to move up on the outside of the leader. When he did, he hung a little, showing signs of inexperience, his tongue hanging out. Once he figured out what was being asked of him, however, he put his head down and moved forward. He did drift over to the far rail late on, and his head was still a little high, but he went clear of his main rival and won nicely.

This was a good performance. Subcontinent had won three times earlier in the season, he was well worth his rating of 88 and he had it all to himself in front here, so Exosphere did well to beat him fairly comprehensively off level weights. The pair of them had it between them from a fair way out, they pulled nicely clear of their three rivals, and the winning time was decent, the fastest comparative time of the day.

This was just Exosphere’s third ever run. Unraced as a juvenile last season, he started off this term in the Wood Ditton at Newmarket’s Craven meeting, and he got off the mark on his next run on the Polytrack at Lingfield at the end of April, when he had to fight hard to land the odds. This was a step forward from that, and he should come on again significantly from this. He was still green, so he has the potential to progress significantly as he gains experience. There is no doubt that he has plenty of talent. By Beat Hollow, his siblings are all stayers and his dam was third in a Park Hill, so this 10 furlongs should be a minimum for him. He should progress as he steps up to a mile and a half, and he could even be better over further.

6th June 2015