Gimme A Nother comes home lonely in the Gr 2 Mike de Kock Ipi Tombe Challenge (Picture: 4Racing)
The unbeaten Mike de Kock-trained Mauritzfontein Stud homebred Gimmethegreenlight filly Gimme A Nother faced a classy field in the Gr 2 Mike de Kock Ipi Tombe Stakes on Sunday at Turffontein Standside and came home lonely.
The race was a weight for age plus penalties event and the only two horses carrying penalties were the 4,75 length runner up Feather Boa and 9,25 length sixth-placed Humdinger, who both carried an extra 1kg for Gr 2 wins.
Three-year-old Gimme A Nother is now unbeaten in four starts, including a Gr 3 and Gr 2.
She is also improving noticeably with every start.
In fact only two winners have come out of her first two races, which were comfortable wins over 1450m and 1600m in early October and early November respectively.
The Gr 3 Betway Fillies Mile, which Gimme A Nother won impressively last time out, has a long list of victors who did not go on to further success.
However, the one filly in recent times who bucked that trend was the Mauritzfonhtein Stud-bred Summer Pudding and it took Mauritzfontein-bred Gimme A Nother won run to show she is not going to be part of that trend either.
Summer Pudding, was named Equus Horse Of The Year after completing her three-year-old season unbeaten, including two Gr 1 victories. She went on to win her first nine starts, including Johannesburg’s traditional greatest horseracing event, the Gr 1 Summer Cup.
However, the fillies crop Summer Pudding was a member of was not a vintage one at all.
Thankfully this is not the case this season.
The public can look forward to clashes between Gimme A Nother and her Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas (CFG) runner up stablemate Silver Sanctuary, CFG winner Beach Bomb, Highveld-based Gr 1 winner Bavarian Beauty and also Saturday’s Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas runner up Red Palace.
The Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes on January 6 could be the first port of call for a few of them.
Gimme A Nother, carrying 53kg, jumped well enough on Saturday to claim the rail easily from draw three after the two horses inside of her, Winter Greeting and Feather Boa, were held up by their respective jockeys.
She relaxed well in the box seat behind the leader Marigold Hotel, who set a reasonably good pace.
Gimme A Nother did get the run of the race, but the way she went further and further clear in the long Turffontein Standside straight, including quickening when given just one backhander, told of a top horse in the making.
Gimme A Nother’s victory has ensured that no matter what happens in the future she will have a fairytale story behind her. This fairytale very much involves Mike de Kock and the Oppenheimer family of Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein Stud fame.
Gimme A Nother’s multiple Gr 1-winning grandmother Mother Russia was bought in training by Mary Slack and sent to Mike de Kock.
Her first win for De Kock was in the Ipi Tombe Challenge.
She went on to win the Gr 1 Paddock Stakes, the Gr 1 Empress Club Stakes and the Gr 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate for De Kock to add to the Gr 1 Majorca Stakes she had already won for her original trainer Joey Ramsden.
However, Mother Russia was destined to have only one foal, a Tiger Ridge filly who was named Nother Russia in her honour.
Nother Russia went on to win the Gr 1 Empress Club Stakes twice.
She also won the Gr 2 Ipi Tombe Challenge.
Nother Russia’s second foal is Gimme A Nother.
So on Sunday she repeated the feat of both her mother and grandmother by winning the race which is now named after their trainer.
Of course the race is not only named after Mike de Kock, but also after the greatest filly he ever trained, Ipi Tombe.
This Zimbabwean-bred daughter of Manshood was purchased at the Zimbabwe yearling sales for the equaivalent of U$30 and went on to win three Gr 1s for De Kock in South Africa, including the July.
She was then purchased for US$750,000 by Barry Irwin’s Team Valor. Irwin persuaded Kentucky’s WinStar Farm to buy a 50 percent interest in the filly; Team Valor sold 25 percent to various clients who bought fractional shares; 25 percent remained with the existing owners.
Ipi Tombe went on to be unbeaten in three starts for De Kock in Dubai, including the Gr 1 US$2 million Dubai Duty Free, meaning her purchase price was more than paid for.
The Dubai Duty Free victory under Kevin Shea also earned Ipi Tombe the title of best filly in the world.
Ipi Tombe only ran once in the USA for trainer Elliot Walden, winning a Gr 3 over 1800m on the turf at Churchhill Downs.
She was later sold for 850,000 Gns with a covering by the great stallion Sadler’s Wells.
However, she was not a success at stud.
She produced six foals, five runners and three one-time winners.
