Champion filly Immersive returns to action in Monomoy Girl

After Good Cheer's upset loss in last weekend's Acorn (G1), the three-year-old filly division is not so clear-cut as it once looked.

Godolphin and trainer Brad Cox, though, still hold a lot of metaphorical bullets. One is undefeated juvenile filly champion Immersive, who returns to competition for the first time this season in the $175,000 Monomoy Girl S. at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Immersive was the dominant figure of her peer group last season, scoring a Grade 1 triple in the Spinaway, Alcibiades, and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. However, the stable had to turn to Good Cheer to land the Kentucky Oaks (G1) after Immersive sustained an injury over the winter.

A daughter of Nyquist, Immersive has posted six published works in advance of the Monomoy Girl, which is run over 1 1/16 miles.

"We're looking forward to getting her started again," Cox said. "She's doing well since coming back to the string at Churchill and looks just as good as she did as a two-year-old."

Take Charge Milady is the most accomplished of Immersive's five rivals, having won the Martha Washington S. and finishing second in the Ashland (G1) earlier this term. However, she's not immune to running below par, as was shown in two of her last three starts in the Honeybee (G3) and Kentucky Oaks.

Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) runner-up Anna's Promise was a respectable fifth in the Kentucky Oaks, while the speedy Running Away has won multiple stakes this year for Wesley Ward.

Later on Saturday's card, Utah Beach will look to storm home a winner for the third consecutive race in the $200,000 Chorleywood S., a 1 3/8-mile grass test for older horses. Utah Beach has emerged as the leading turf marathoner on the Kentucky circuit this year, with back-to-back wins in the Elkhorn (G2) and Louisville (G3).

However, Highway Robber will bring plenty of class to the table, having beaten Utah Beach last October in the Sycamore (G3). Highway Robber was a last-out third in the Turf Classic (G1) over a shorter nine-furlong trip on Kentucky Derby Day.