Immersive

Last year's unbeaten champion 2-year-old filly Immersive (Nyquist) is back in training with Brad Cox at Churchill Downs. It was announced earlier this year that the Godolphin homebred would be given some time off due to bone bruising. "Immersive is back in the barn, training and moving fantastic," Cox said. "Looking forward to getting her back later in the season." Immersive capped a four-for-four season with a dominating victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar Nov. 1. Her resume also includes wins in the GI Spinaway...

Only a courageous runner-up effort behind 'TDN Rising Star' and 3-year-old male Eclipse finalist Fierceness (City of Light) in the GI Travers Stakes this past August stood between Brookdale Racing Inc, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing's 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) and a perfect season in 2024. But the enormously talented dark bay filly was utterly dominant against her own sex in 2024 and became the first female since Havre de Grace (Saint Liam) in 2011 to take home the coveted Horse of the Year statuette...

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's Godolphin was honored with the Eclipse Award as the outstanding owner in North America for the fifth consecutive year and seventh overall, and for the fourth time in a row was also crowned North America's outstanding breeder during Thursday's ceremonies.  Godolphin-owned runners posted 104 victories from 460 starts (22.6%) during the year and their runners finished in the top three in 52% of their appearances while earning better than $20 million. Horses bred by Godolphin bankrolled $23.2 million and no fewer than 10 Grade...

Godolphin homebred Immersive (Nyquist) ran the table in her four appearances at two, with three wins at Grade I level capped by a dominating 4 1/2-length victory on Breeders' Cup Friday. Immersive is the second Eclipse Award winner and third champion for Nyquist, himself the champion of his generation in 2015. Nyquist is also represented by Sovereign Award winner Gretzky the Great. One of 16 graded stakes winners for Nyquist, who was himself a champion juvenile, Immersive was also one of four Grade I winners for her sire in 2024--joining...

It's an interesting year when it comes to the Eclipse Awards, which will be announced next week. As always, there are the categories that are no-brainers where the winners should be unanimous. But there are several divisions this year that aren't so clear-cut, which will make for an interesting ceremony come Jan. 23. Here's a look at my ballot: Two-Year-Old Male: Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) Became the obvious pick after winning the 2024 GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Scary thing is that he might be no better than the third...

The GI Breeders' Cup NetJets Juvenile Fillies winner and leading candidate for Eclipse 2-year-old filly honors, Immersive (Nyquist--Gap Year, by Bernardini), will be given some time off due to bone bruising, according to a Thursday post on Godolphin's website. The homebred and Brad Cox trainee--who also won the GI Spinaway Stakes and GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes--will likely be off until summer. Godolphin's Director of Bloodstock, Michael Banahan, said, "Brad [Cox] wasn't happy with the way she was moving so she came home for diagnostics that confirmed the issue. While obviously...

For the fourth consecutive year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's Godolphin topped the list of leading individual breeders in North America in 2024, with earnings of $23,205,149. Runners listed as bred by the operation made 1,161 starts for a record of 226 wins, 169 runner-up efforts and 186 thirds. No fewer than 10 Grade I races in North America in 2024 were taken by Godolphin-breds, led by Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who won his second Breeders' Cup Turf in three years and is a finalist for the Male...

Multiple Grade I-placed Quietside (Malibu Moon) will be targeted to make her sophomore debut in the Jan. 25 Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park, trainer John Ortiz confirmed Sunday. The Shortleaf Stable homebred, tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following her 6 1/4-length debut win at Saratoga in August, was second behind expected 2-year-old filly champion Immersive (Nyquist) in the GI Spinaway Stakes and was third behind that foe while making her two-turn debut in the GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes. She was most recently seen finishing second in the GII Golden...

With the road to the 2025 GI Kentucky Oaks officially underway, Brad Cox already trains arguably the top two juvenile fillies in the country. After this weekend, he may even have the third. 'TDN Rising Star' Muhimma (Munnings), a press-and-pounce winner of her first two starts by a combined margin of 13 jaw-dropping lengths at Churchill Downs, will make her two-turn and stakes debut for Cox in Saturday's GII Demoiselle Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct. A $700,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Shadwell Stable, the rail-drawn gray has...

Godolphin homebred Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) unleashed a powerful run on the far turn and made it a perfect four-for-four with an off-the-pace victory in Saturday's GII Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs, good for 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. 'TDN Rising Star' Quietside (Malibu Moon) was 2 1/2 lengths back in second. Eclatant (Into Mischief) was third. Favored at 3-5 off a 4 3/4-length success in the track-and-trip Rags To Riches Stakes Oct. 27, the bay filly bumped with a rival shortly after the start...

Horse racing and bourbon intersect in so many ways, but they really form a nexus around the themes of time and patience. Without either in the breeding shed or in the rickhouse, your chances at success will be severely hampered. There is nothing quite so powerful as a statement of age in the racing form or an age statement out of the barrel. When it comes to Thoroughbreds and specifically placing a strong emphasis on homebreds, John Ed Anthony's Shortleaf Stable personifies what many in the industry think a great...

7th-DMR, 61K, O/C, 3yo/up, f, 6f, 6:33 p.m. TAMARA (Bolt d'Oro), the daughter of four-time Eclipse winner Beholder, makes her long-awaited return to the races Friday after a year-long absence following last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Named a 'TDN Rising Star' in her summer debut over course and near distance, the Richard Mandella trainee gave visions of her illustrious mother when romping by 6 3/4 lengths in the GI Del Mar Debutante. Heavily favored to complete the hat trick at the Breeders' Cup, Tamara came home eased after...