THE favourite won like a good horse should, yet despite Exosphere’s success in the Group 1 Golden Rose at Rosehill, trainer John O’Shea was troubled by the performances of his other two starters in the $1 million 1,400-metre event for three-year-olds.

“I’m perplexed by the other two,” said O’Shea of Holler and Shards who were last and second last in the eight horse race. “Exosphere is a super horse but to tell you the truth I was watching the other two (drop out) at the end. There is something not right there. They worked unbelievably on Tuesday and that was not them. I would like them swabbed because we can’t be sure what might have happened to them,” O’Shea told the stewards.

Both Holler and Shards are trained out of Warwick Farm whereas Exosphere was prepared from Godolphin’s Agnes Banks property.

Nothing can be taken away from the Lonhro colt Exosphere. Always handy to the pace set by Speak Fondly, jockey James McDonald was able to take advantage of both his positioning and the pedestrian early pace of the race to deny the chances of his biggest threat, the Chris Waller-trained Press Statement.

“He is a super colt and for John and the team that is fantastic,” said McDonald. “I knew I had Press Statement in a pocket and waited and waited and, when I went, nothing was going to go with me.” Early leader, the Northern Meteor filly Speak Fondly ran right up to her best to stay on for second, beaten two and a half lengths as the Sebring colt Sebring Sun ran on impressively from the tail to be half a length further back in third.

Out of the Danzero mare Altitude, Exosphere now looks set for the Group I Coolmore Stud Stakes over Flemington’s straight six on Derby Day with the most likely route being via a start in the Roman Consul or the Premiere Stakes in Sydney.

Winx lands Theo Marks Stakes

THE Street Cry mare Winx completed four winners at Rosehill for trainer Chris Waller with her victory in the Group 2 Theo Marks Stake over 1,300 metres, the second last of the day.

With a blistering turn of foot, her last 200 in 11.14 seconds, Winx turned defeat into victory as a last stride win relegated the Oratorio gelding Sons Of John to second with Fastnet Rock gelding Ninth Legion third.

“We will press on to the Epsom now, it looks a nice race for her over the mile in three weeks’ time,” said Waller. With weights released Monday for the Epsom Handicap, Winx was allocated 53kg that sees her a firm early favourite for the October 3rd Group 1 mile.