Gimme A Nother gets up under John Velazquez (From TBA (Images kind courtesy of Cindy Dulay))
History was made by the superstar South African-homebred mare Gimme Another on Saturday at Woodbine in Canada.
By winning the Gr 1 $750,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine in Canada against international competition the six-year-old Mauritzfontein Stud-homebred Gimmethegreenlight mare probably scored the highest profile win by a South African-bred in North America since the celebrated 1964-born Hawaii (Utrillo) won the Gr 1 Man o’War Stakes at Belmont Park in 1969.
Gimme A Nother beat a top class field in the E.P. Taylor with the second and third horses, See The Fire (Sea The Stars) and Jancis (Tamayuz), both being Gr 2 winners in Britain and the former being a dual Gr 2 winner.
Furthermore, the E.P. Taylor, which is run over 2000m, forms part of the Breeders Cup Challenge series, meaning the winner gets automatic entry into the Breeders Cup.
John Velazquez rode the Graham Motion-trained mare and from pole position he stuck to his station throughout.
She was in a handy position and ran on strongly in the straight, threading her way between the front two horses and using her huge stride to scythe down the outside pair of horses, See The Fire and Jancis, who were being called home by the commentator.
She won cosily by a neck.
The Rathmor Stud-bred Gypsy’s Warning (Mogok) won the Gr 1 Matriarch Stakes at Hollywood Park in 2010, but that is now a Gr 2 race.
The Man o’War Stakes has also been downgraded to a Gr 2, but shortly after Hawaii’s success it was won by such legends as Secretariat and Dahlia.
So Gimme A Nother’s win is likely the best winning performance by a SA-bred in North America since Hawaii’s 1969 victory.
Gimme A Nother is officially owned by Steven and Jessica Jell’s Newstead Stables. The Jells are the owners of Muaritzfontein Stud, who bred Gimme A Nother. Interestingly, they had taken up a prior engagement to watch the rugby test match in Baltimore between the Springboks and the All Blacks and they watched the race on their cellphones in the stadium.
Gimme A Nother is part of a fairytale story as she is the grand-daughter of the top class Mother Russia, who sadly only had one foal, Gimme A Nother’s mother Nother Russia.
The 6-year-old daughter of Gimmethegreenlight returned R4.40 on the South African Tote and completed the distance in 2:02.71 over a firm turf course.
Dating back to last September, Gimme a Nother has now won four consecutive stakes on American soil. Her other wins are the 2025 John C. Mabee Stakes (G2T) at Del Mar, this year’s Eatontown Stakes (G3T) at Monmouth Park, and Colonial Downs’ Beverly D. Stakes (G2T).
“She came to me undefeated,” trainer Graham Motion said. “That was a lot of pressure, but she’s been remarkable. Hoped to get her to the Breeders’ Cup last year and didn’t quite work out. Ever since we gave her a little break over the winter, she’s been unbeatable.
“(Velazquez) just had a beautiful trip and you have so much confidence when Johnny is riding. He said even today that she was a better horse than she was last time—she kind of took him there. Very impressive.”
