2024 Eclipse Awards: Immersive

Immersive comes from a line of Thoroughbreds with juvenile prowess. The striking dark bay filly was well within her depth in her 2-year-old season, fashioning an unbeaten campaign, with three Grade 1 wins, to resoundingly stamp herself an Eclipse Award finalist.

“I think [among] 2-year-old fillies, she’s the best we’ve had,” trainer Brad Cox said following Immersive’s season-capping win in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. “To accomplish what she has, we’ve not had one win three Grade 1s at 2. Excited about what she accomplished, proud of her, and looking forward to next year.”

Immersive’s grandsire, the late Uncle Mo, was an unbeaten 2-year-old Eclipse champion who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. His son Nyquist, the sire of Immersive, followed in his footsteps, emulating those accomplishments.

Nyquist, already the sire of 2020 BC Juvenile Fillies winner and Eclipse champion Vequist, stands for the Godolphin operation under its Darley Stallions banner, and Immersive races as a Godolphin homebred. She is out of the outfit’s mare Gap Year, a daughter of another late champion and Darley stallion, Bernardini.

After winning her debut in July at Saratoga, Immersive followed up with a win in the track’s premier event for 2-year-old fillies, the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes at seven furlongs. She returned $27.40 for the 1 1/4-length win over favored Quietside – and would not be so lightly regarded again.

:: Full list of 2024 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

A two-turn test was next on the schedule, and Immersive passed in flying fashion. As the favorite in the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes on opening day of Keeneland’s fall meet in October, she held Quickick at bay through the stretch for a 1 1/4-length win, with Quietside third.

Immersive traveled across the country for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar. Much was at stake. Since the race was inaugurated in 1984, it has been a powerful predictor of the Eclipse voting, including in the last decade, with the last 10 winners of the Juvenile Fillies from 2014-23 being voted divisional champion.

In her bid for glory, in which she was favored, Immersive settled nicely between horses under regular rider Manny Franco. She made her bid on the turn, worked her way out to loom four wide into the stretch, and swept through the lane to a 4 1/2-length win over the graded stakes winner Vodka With a Twist, with Quickick third.

“So difficult to win three Grade 1s – so difficult to win one Grade 1,” said Michael Banahan, Godolphin’s director of bloodstock in the United States. “But to win three of them on the track like that and in an impressive fashion as she’s done, as we saw today, the further, the better. So we have an awful lot to look forward to as well.

Being by Nyquist made it that extra special for us today.”

Immersive was taken out of training in early January due to bone bruising. She is expected to be off until summer, according to Banahan.

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