Facing his biggest test to date, the 6-year-old Exosphere gelding Phearson rolled to the front shortly after the start of Saturday's Group III Liverpool City Cup at Randwick and just kept on going.
Bringing up a double for Tom Sherry, the Brad Widdup-trained gelding defeated the New Bay gelding New Energy (IRE) by a length, with the Exceed And Excel gelding Hard To Say a length and a half back in third.
The winner of the Group III Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on December 2, Phearson finished midfield in the $2 million Group II The Ingham at Randwick a week later.
With his second stakes success, Phearson advances his record to six wins, six seconds, and six thirds from 17 starts with earnings of $584,350.
"He’s very tough,” Widdup said. I thought they were going to be too quick, but he likes to roll - probably not that quick - but full credit to the staff at home. He’s not an easy horse to get to win, they’ve done a great job.
“He’ll improve and loves racing.”
Tom Sherry bookended the meeting.
“He’s not the easiest horse but he had a good today and that is probably the best he’s left the barrier,” Sherry said.
“The more you leave him alone and leave him to his own devices, the more he responds.
“He gave a good kick up the straight, and I was hoping he’d have got third, but he was tough and too strong.
“He did everything right, was well-behaved and hopefully, he’s in for a good prep.”
A $65,000 purchase for Sunninghill Park Stud from the Fernrigg Farm draft at the 2019 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, Phearson is the best of three winners from five to race for the Pins mare Chateau D'Yquem, a three-quarter sister to Group 1 New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas, and Group 1 New Zealand One Thousand Guineas winner Katie Lee and a half-sister to the Group 1 BTC Cup, and Group 1 Telegraph Hcp winner Gee I Jane, Group 1 Diamond stakes winner Banchee, and Group III winner Miss Jessie Jay.
Bell Racing bought a Darci Brahma half-sister to Phearson for $50,000 from the Seaton Park draft at Karaka in January.
Phearson is one of ten stakes-winners for Oaklands Sud’s Exosphere.
