Quiet on the Board, Nyquist First-Timer Immersive Wins Spa Maiden

On paper, there was a lot to like about Immersive (Nyquist) in Sunday's ninth race at Saratoga, a six-furlong maiden for 2-year-old fillies. She is by the top sire Nyquist, owned and bred by Godolphin and trained by Brad Cox. With those credentials, a short price might have been in order, but somehow the bay went off at 10-1.

Looks like the bettors got this one wrong.

After a perfect stalking trip under Manny Franco, Immersive won by two lengths and paid $22.80. The running time was 1:12.60 for the six furlongs.

“It's important to any first timer, you need to break good and need to be able to give them a clean trip,” Franco said. “That was perfect. She got into a good rhythm. When those two horses were in front of me, I thought I had a chance. She came running when I asked her. Sometimes when you hit her, you have to be careful. It's hard for me because there is a lot of adrenaline and I want to win the race. Sometimes, in races like this you have to be gentle with the horse.”

Spun Candy (Hard Spun) and Laughing Lady (Practical Joke) vied for the early lead while Immersive stalked the pair from third.

The Mark Casse-trained Salted (Tapit) was second and Spun Candy held on for third. Salted stumbled at the start and soon thereafter lagged behind the field. Considering her trip and how she closed in the stretch, she ran a winning race.

The winning dam is Gap Year (Bernardini), who won two of eight career starts while earning $124,990. She's had five foals with two horses to race and now two winners. The other is Takingtimeoff (Curlin), who won a maiden special weight race at Delaware Park.

9th-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 7-21, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:12.60, ft, 2 lengths.

IMMERSIVE (f, 2, Nyquist–Gap Year, by Bernardini), let go at 10-1, chased the early pacesetters through a quarter in :22.76 and rolled up challenge pacesetter Spun Candy (Hard Spun) as the half went up in :46.48. She put that game foe away in deep stretch and pulled away to win by two lengths. Salted (Tapit) closed late to nip Spun Candy for second. Gap Year, a daughter of Grade I winner Dubai Escapade (Awesome Again), produced a filly by Street Sense this year and was bred back to that stallion. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $55,000.

O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.