Janet Napolitano Photo

Immersive most impressive to win G1 Spinaway with stretch-drive surge

by Brian Bohl

Godolphin's Kentucky homebred Immersive, making just her second overall start, collared 5-2 favorite Quietside in the stretch with a strong move from the outside to post a 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway for juvenile fillies going seven-furlongs, at Saratoga Race Course.

Immersive, who posted a two-length debut win going six furlongs over the same track on July 21, gave trainer Brad Cox a potential contender in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in November at Del Mar by besting an 11-horse field and earning a tiered bonus bankroll as part of the “Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen” Bonus Series. Horses finishing first, second, or third in these designated races earn bonuses which can be utilized towards pre-entry and entry fees at the World Championships.

Under steady rain, Immersive broke sharp from the inside post under jockey Manny Franco and was content to sit off the pace of Reliable Source, who led the field with an opening quarter-mile in 22.68 seconds before The Queens M G took over through half-mile in 46.04 over a track listed as muddy and sealed.

Entering the turn, Quietside took command under rider Luis Saez, but Franco helped Immersive find another gear when straightened for home, continuing to gain ground before overtaking the favorite in the final sixteenth while surging from the outside, completing the course in a 1:25.31 final time.

Quietside, trained by John Ortiz and entering off a 6 1/4-length first-out win earlier this month at the Spa, finished four lengths ahead of Sherbini for second. Strong State finished fourth, with Grade 3 Adirondack-winner The Queens M G, Reliable Source, Pondering, Salted, Tiz Purple, and Bellacose completing the order of finish. Slang was pulled up by jockey Kendrick Carmouche soon after the start and transported back the barn via equine ambulance. Per NYRA Veterinary Department, there was no obvious or apparent injury upon initial examination.

Off at 12-1, Immersive returned $27.40 on a $2 win bet. With the Stanley Cup in attendance at Saratoga, it was fitting a Nyquist filly [named for long-time NHL player Gustav Nyquist] captured the 133rd Spinaway edition. Immersive banked $165,000 in victory and improved her career bankroll to $220,000.

“I love her even more now. She is good. She really is,” Cox said. “She kind of stamped herself as being good from Day One. She showed at Keeneland 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.

“She is lightly raced, it is hard to say what she wants to do and what she is going to like,” added Cox. “She is a really good, smooth mover, great stride, so I was hoping she would handle it, and she did.”

Cox said that next opportunity could come in the Grade 1 Alcibiades on October 4 at Keeneland.

"We will talk it over with the Godolphin team. 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.’"

Franco won his first career Spinaway and said he was impressed with how his charge finished off the race.

“The plan was to go forward and be in the first flight of the race. I don't want to be too far [back] because of the sealed track,” Franco said. “I was in a good stalking position and my filly kept coming little by little. I knew that I can get there because the other filly just run once. I think my filly wanted to go that far and I was comfortable where I was. I just tried to engage her to see the other horse. I tried to make my way in a little bit, and she was coming.”

Quietside, a Shortleaf Stable homebred, made a strong account in elevating to stakes company after exiting the outermost post 11.

"I expected this kind of effort from this filly,” Ortiz said. “I think we got a little unlucky with this post - at first, I loved it, but we got caught four-wide the entire race. Luis tried to get the jump on them, and I have to give credit to Brad Cox's filly, she ran a huge effort today to run us down and catch us at the wire. I always like these kind of performances. If I get beat, I like to get beat at the wire. I don't want to see my horses struggling or not getting there in time. It was an honest race and I’m very proud of her."

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 13-race card featuring the Listed $150,000 Bernard Baruch in Race 11 and the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup in Race 12. First post is 12:05 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

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