By Duane Fonseca -
Godolphin enjoyed success in the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes (1200m) after an epic performance from Immersive witnessed the Brad Cox trainee spring a mighty surprise in sodden conditions at Saratoga Racecourse on Saturday.
Guided to victory in a maiden by Manuel Franco on her only previous start in July, the juvenile Nyquist filly, homebred by Godolphin, showed great maturity in the hands of the same rider as she pounced off the pace to score by a length and a quarter from joint-favourite Quietside (Luis Saez), trained by John A Ortiz looking to win the race for the second-straight year.
Eleven juvenile fillies went to post in extremely difficult conditions on a track downgraded to muddy after heavy afternoon showers, with Steve Asmussen’s Reliable Source going forward to set the pace under Ricardo Santana Jr.
Franco decided to hold Immersive back in fifth and kept her out of the kickback with the leader yielding her position in time to Quietside, who hit the front turning for home. Quietside might’ve been asked to go a little too early by Saez and seemed a bit out of breath as the finish approached.
Meanwhile, thinking it best to head down the centre of the track, Franco brought Immersive down the middle and the slight extra trip did not matter as at a full stretch, the pair made up ground on their rivals quickly and seized the lead inside the final furlong to win by a length and a quarter. Mike Casse’s Sherbini (Florent Geroux) arrived next four lengths adrift.
Winning trainer Cox said: “We will talk it over with the Godolphin team. I would say that (G1 Alcibiades Stakes) probably would be the game plan.”
Godolphin USA Director of Bloodstock, Michael Banahan added: “We’re just delighted to get a big one here at Saratoga. The wet surface was probably an unknown for all of them so you go out there and hope for the best. We were a bit disappointed in drawing the one hole and then the rain, but you go out there and hope for the best and Manny gave her a great ride.
The race is part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen Bonus Series and offers the winner $30,000 to apply as entry fees for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (Nov. 1) at Del Mar. And Banahan hinted Immersive could be West Coast bound.
“You’d hope that that’s where we’ll go,” he said.
“We’ll see how she comes out and what Brad thinks, and whether we need to go again in the Alcibiades (Oct. 4) at Keeneland. We might stretch her out a little more to see if that’s what she wants to do, but today is evidence that that’s what we think she’d like to do.”
On the Saratoga undercard, Ortiz-trained Brightwork, winner of last year’s Spinaway, won the Grade 3 Prioress Stakes under Saez, with Idea Generation claiming the Grade 2 Flower Bowl Stakes for trainer Chad C Brown and Geroux.
