Gimme A Nother wins prestigious G1

South African champion Gimme a Nother (photo, right), owned by Steven and Jessica Jell's Newstead Stables,. prevailed in a blanket finish in Saturday’s $750 000 Gr1 E.P. Taylor and punched her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup in the 2000m event over Woodbine’s main turf.

DRF reports that 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 Gr2 Beverly D. at Colonial Downs on 1  August, 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 and gave Velazquez a second consecutive victory in the race after She Feels Pretty won last year for Cherie DeVaux.

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 the Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein-bred Gimme a Nother, a daughter of SA champion Gimmethegreenlight, 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.”

The winner, who is out of the Tiger Ridge champion Nother Russia (SAF), was an undefeated multiple Group 1 winner before joining Herringswell at Palm Meadows.

Thoroughbred Racing Commentary (TRC) reported on the EP Taylor some years ago: "It may be one of the most important horse races in Canada as it is, but Woodbine’s E.P. Taylor Stakes has become one of the most significant races in the world as far as breeding is concerned.

"As a whole, the winners of Canada’s G1 E.P. Taylor Stakes are phenomenal broodmares."

Image: Woodbine Racetrack. Race replay below.