Gimme a Nother scores narrow victory in E.P. Taylor, earns Breeders' Cup spot
:quality(75))
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The South African champion Gimme a Nother prevailed in a blanket finish in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 E.P. Taylor and punched her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup in the 1 1/4-mile event over Woodbine’s roomy main turf.
John Velazquez carved out a lovely inside stalking trip from post 1 in the eight-horse field on Gimme a Nother. Achieve, who finished a close second to Gimme a Nother in the Grade 2 Beverly D. at Colonial on Aug. 1, set a moderate pace before tiring badly in the stretch.
Gimme a Nother split horses near the eighth pole and went on to score by a neck, in a time of 2:02.71. The Europeans See The Fire and Jancis rallied wide in unison and the former got second by a nose over the latter. Venetian Lace faded from second to fourth and the favored Diamond Rain was a hard-ridden fifth in the eight-horse field.
“When I asked her, she went through that little hole between horses and kept running - very impressive,” Velazquez said.
Trainer Graham Motion said everything worked out perfectly for Gimme a Nother, who won her three previous starts in graded stakes after a leading second in the Grade 2 Canadian here last summer.
“I loved being in the 1-post,” Motion said. “Johnny just had a beautiful trip. You have so much confidence when Johnny’s riding. He said even today, she’s a better horse than she was last time. She took him there. It was very impressive.”
Motion got Gimme a Nother in 2024 after she had won all seven of her starts in South Africa.
“She came to me undefeated,” Motion recalled. “That was a lot of pressure, but she’s been remarkable. We hoped to get her to the Breeders’ Cup last year and it didn’t quite work out. Ever since we gave her a little break over the winter, she’s been unbeatable. She’s very special.”
Gimme a Nother ($8.90) earned $450,000 for Newstead Stables. The 6-year-old daughter of Gimmethegreenlight is expected to make her next start in the Oct. 31 BC Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.
