The field size still became cause for concern, commenters doubted Exosphere’s ability to run 1600m, and the overall feel for the race became a “what could have been”. The Rose had wilted long before the running and according to the racing media and their hoard of self-proclaimed followers, the day belonged instead to Winx.
Exosphere’s next mission became the G2 Roman Consul stakes at Randwick on Epsom Day. It was here the colt announced himself as a serious racehorse, exploding up the Randwick straight and easing down with a race record time, over half a second quicker than the previous record set by the I Am Invincible colt Brazen Beau, who now stands at Darley for $44,000.
Despite being at least 10 lengths from the race leader Japonisme at the 600m, McDonald sat patiently on the hulk, allowing him to stride freely before unleashing his devastating sprint at the 300m mark.
Brazen Beau went on to win the Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington on Derby Day. If Exosphere runs, he may spoil the feature event with the customary acceleration he has displayed over his past three runs.
He certainly upstaged the three G1 events on Epsom day, and surely his performance was on par with the unbelievable passage Winx and Hugh Bowman weaved to dominate the 150th Epsom Handicap. McDonald was ominous with his warning for the Melbourne rivals, Exosphere “is a superstar” with the “world as his oyster”.
But will Exosphere ever do enough to earn himself the “champion” status that creates the greatest arguments amongst the racing fraternity?
In an age where horses are openly critiqued in feverish battles over social media platforms and it seems no horse can spare comparisons to previous champions – even Black Caviar had to compete with comparison and critique throughout her historic career, it seems racing media exhausts all possibilities when trying to feature a headline horse.
Trainers must find themselves sounding overly repetitive in interviews describing their chances and discussing just how good their good horses are.
I stood beside an older couple at Rosehill and we politely discussed our tips for the Rose as the horses moved onto the track. They mentioned watching Octagonal win his second Mercedes Classic (now BMW) at Rosehill, and later watching his son Lonhro easily win his second George Ryder. The pair could proudly add Exosphere, a son of Lonhro and grandson of the great Octagonal to that list.
Racing adored Octagonal, and his charismatic owners Bob and Jack Ingham were incredible ambassadors for the sport. A sea of cerise, the famous colours worn by the Ingham horses awaited Octagonal, and later Lonhro, as they both raced in Sydney and Melbourne for astonishing success.
When the Ingham family sold their racing empire to Sheik Mohammed in 2008, a special era of the sport came to an end. There are no handshakes with the crowd when a Godolphin horse wins a group, no sea of blue worn by racing fans.
The sireline of Exosphere, and his upbringing at the famous Woodlands Stud however elicit the memories of his famous father and grandfather in the minds of racing’s followers – his incredible racing ability and dark brown appearance resemble the two Ingham greats.
It is this memory and continuation of Lonhro’s venerable bloodline that bring racing members back to the track. If Lonhro can sire a son that shares his ability and can in turn sire a winner, regardless of petty comparisons and lack of race day personalities, horses like Exosphere can reignite the passion for our ‘good’ horses in racing.
>>> Racing media becomes a fiercely competitive ground for stakeholders to constantly evaluate the ideal of the ‘champion’ racehorse. No horses’ record can escape the intense process of commentary by a panopticon-style racing media establishment that, along with participants via digital media channels, provide an endless stream of noise disguised as content. It is a difficult time to be a, for lack of a better word, ‘good’ racehorse .