Immersive remains perfect with G1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes win

Immersive cemented her position at the top of North America’s juvenile filly division with a decisive victory in the G1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland on Friday, 4 October. 

Trained by Brad Cox, the Nyquist homebred brought an unbeaten record into the extended-mile contest following two Saratoga wins over shorter, including a swooping success on a wet track in the G1 Spinaway Stakes. 

Having shown good speed from the gates, Immersive disputed third on the outside of Continuity early on before taking slightly closer order to stalk the leading duo of Rich City Girl and Liam In The Dust after the first quarter-mile. 

Immersive made smooth headway to go second turning in and ranged up on the outside of Rich City Girl to take up the running at the top of the straight. Manny Franco kicked on into a clear advantage soon after, with Immersive finding plenty to see off Quickick to prevail by a length and a quarter. 

Brad Cox said: “I’d like to thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and the whole Godolphin team. Immersive stamped herself as a very good filly from day one, when she arrived here at Keeneland in the spring. It’s a big win for her – she always acted like she would carry talent around two turns, which she did today. 

“I want to thank Manny for being aggressive and putting her in the race. It felt like there were a lot of fillies in the race who wanted to do the same thing, based off pace figures, and you can’t take speed out of a horse. She broke and he did a good job of tracking the leaders. She finished up well. 

“We will see how she comes out of this race but, if she rebounds well, then it’s on to California for the Breeders’ Cup. I think she’s a two-turn filly and she showed it today.” 

Manny Franco added: “We have wanted to go further with Immersive since she won first time out and she proved today that she wants to go this distance. She is a grinder. I broke running today, which was the plan, and she was travelling so comfortably. I was pleased with what I had under me and it was a matter of time. 

“At the quarter-pole, I asked her for her effort and she took a little bit to get going, but she got it done. She’s a nice filly.”