A model of consistency with 17 top four placed finishes from 18 starts, Joe Pride’s 4yo Exosphere gelding Headley Grange stepped up to black type race for the first time with instant success, winning the $200,000 Listed ATC Civic Stakes (1400m) at Randwick.
Resuming two weeks ago with success in a Benchmark 94 at Randwick where he carried 57kgs, the drop to just 54kgs on Saturday saw the gelding start the favourite in the 16-horse field.
One of three runners in the race for the inform Joe Pride stable, jockey Jason Collet was partnering the promising gelding for just the first time.
Pride’s Cool Jakey (Pierro) went forward to take up the lead with stablemate Headly Grange settling a few lengths back on the rail getting a gun run.
Bjorn Baker’s 3yo Raikkonen (Shalaa) who was dropping back from a length fourth last time out in the Group 3 Fred Best Classic in Queensland was tracking Headley Grange and on paper looked to be one of just a few in the race capable of toppling the favourite.
With Cool Jakey ensuring the pace was on, he still held the lead in the straight but was starting to put up the white flag as Headley Grange had come to the outside to commence his challenge.
With Collet asking his mount for an effort, the 4yo responded, pulling clear to land his first black type success.
Charging home into second was the Mick Price and Michael Kent (Jnr)-trained Welwal (GB) (Shalaa) just ahead of Matthew Smith’s 7yo gelding Astero (Zoustar), who had improved from his last start fifth behind the winner over 1300m two weeks back.
Now that he has proven himself at stakes level, Pride is keen to qualify the gelding for the $3m The Big Dance (1600m) on Melbourne Cup day.
"Nice to see him step up to that higher grade today," Pride said.
"That's never easy to do in a high-pressure race with plenty of opposition.
"He's come back particularly well this preparation and we will go to the South Grafton Cup next. We will try and qualify him for one of the 'Dances'."
The third of three winners on the card for Collett, the jockey pleased with the way he responded when the pressure was on.
"He's a nice horse," Collett said.
"The tempo of that race was different to last start. It was genuinely run. He has quickened off it and then he's had to tough it out.
"He just found another gear. When they came to him at the 150 (metres) he went again so that's a really good sign."
Purchased from the Inglis Digital platform in November 2023 for $120,000 after just three starts, the gelding’s earnings sit at just shy of $600,000, with the promise of more to come no doubt.
One of 11 stakes winner for Lonhro’s Group 1 Golden Rose winner Exosphere, who passed away in August last year, the Mr RJ Manwaring bred Headley Grange is one of three winners from three to the races out of the winning Hard Spun (USA) mare Hard Go Jo, herself a daughter of the stakes placed Go Johemma (Johannesburg).
The current 3yo filly out of the mare is a daughter of Hallowed Crown named Twisted Queen who broke her maiden in May for the Ben, Will and JD Hayes yard, while the final foal of the mare is an unnamed yearling by Churchill (IRE).
