Godolphin homebred Immersive courageously rallied to upset Saturday’s Spinaway (G1) at Saratoga, overhauling Quietside in deep stretch to win going away by 1 1/4 lengths. After winning her career debut at 10-1 over the track seven weeks ago, this Brad Cox-trained daughter of Nyquist remained perfect while scoring at 12.70-1 with Manny Franco.
Immersive stepped seven furlongs in 1:25.31 over the rain-soaked muddy track.
“She is good, she really is,” Cox said. “She kind of stamped herself as being good from day one. She showed at Keeneland (where she started recording workouts in May) that she had some talent. We moved her over to Churchill; we thought she was a Saratoga filly for a while. She came up here and ran a big race first time out. I thought she galloped out huge that day, and always thought she’d stretch out — most often Godolphin horses do with their pedigrees; they breed for two-turn horses. I think she’ll handle the two turns when she gets the opportunity.”
Immersive broke alertly from her innermost post and stalked a couple of lengths back in fifth. Quietside, the 2.80-1 favorite following an impressive runaway debut win, launched a bid on the far turn and took a clear lead into the stretch, but Immersive dug in determinedly on the far outside in deep stretch to prevail.
“The plan was to go forward and be in the first flight of the race,” Franco said. “I don’t want to be too far (back) because of the sealed track. I was in a good stalking position and my filly kept coming little by little.”
Cox said the Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 4 could be Immersive’s next start.
“I would say that probably would be the game plan,” Cox said. “I’d like to ship her back to Churchill on Monday and come up with a game plan. I would say that would probably be plan A.”
Quietside wound up four lengths clear of late-running Sherbini at 10-1. It was nearly four more lengths to Strong State in fourth, and next came Adirondack (G3) and Schuylerville (G3) winner The Queens M G, the 5-2 second choice. Reliable Choice, Pondering, Salted, Tiz Purple, Bellacose, and Slang completed the order.
Immersive is the first stakes winner out of the Bernardini mare Gap Year, a daughter of Grade 1 winner Dubai Escapade. This is the immediate female family of Grade 1 winners Madcap Escapade and Mi Sueno.
One race earlier in the $220,000 Prioress (G3) for three-year-old fillies, WSS Racing’s Brightwork outfinished odds-on favorite Two Sharp by a neck in her first start since a sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) last fall.
Winner of last year’s Spinaway (G1), Adirondack, and Debutante S., Brightwork was scheduled to return in the seven-furlong Test (G1) four weeks ago but had to be scratched after flipping over in the paddock. The John Ortiz-trained daughter of Outwork emerged unscathed from the incident, and Brightwork didn’t miss a beat, recording a game win in the six-furlong test. She left the starting gate as the 2.55-1 second choice with Luis Saez.
“We were just very blessed that we had another opportunity to get another win at Saratoga,” Ortiz said. “This was not the original plan, but God had his plans and things happened for a reason. She looked like she was tiring very hard at the end. She dug in. It didn’t surprise me how much heart she had at the end. It was good to see such guts in an athlete like that. It was just a beautiful race.”
Brightwork appreciated the cutback to a one-turn distance, sustaining her lone career setbacks with unplaced finishes in the Juvenile Fillies and Alcibiades (G1). The Kentucky-bred bay filly improved her record to 5-for-7 after stopping the teletimer in 1:10.86 over a fast track.
Two Sharp, favored at 4-5 after an 11 1/4-length maiden win in early August, set the pace while being tracked by Brightwork and held second by three-quarters of a length over Muccia, who was followed by Autumn Evening, Carmelina, Tricky Temper, Lady Moscato, and Belle’s Blue Bell.
