The ink was barely dry on Monday’s story about star filly Gimme A Nother being pulled out of the Hollywoodbets Durban July – or, rather, the story’s bits had barely switched from 0 to 1 in the digisphere – before we discovered the reason for the move.
The unbeaten three-year-old is being shipped to the US to continue her racing career there.
Trainer Mike de Kock announced on his website that he had consulted with Gimme A Nother’s owners, Jessica and Steven Jell, and a decision had been made to campaign her Stateside.
“I will be flying to the US this week to explore our best racing options for her,” said South Africa’s most famous horseman. “If all goes well, we’ll be sending a couple of other runners with her to continue their careers in the US, and hopefully we can attract other top South African runners to race there.”
It is unlikely the filly – who has won all seven of her starts, including two Grade 1 races – will race locally again.
“We’ll be shipping her as soon as we have an agreed course of action,” said De Kock.
This follows the export to the US of 11 well-performed thoroughbreds, mostly females, in early March – the first such export since 2003.
In that consignment were reigning Equus Horse of the Year Princess Calla, three-year-old prodigy Beach Bomb and ace sprinter Isivunguvungu – all of whom are likely to be targeted at the 2024 Breeders’ Cup, which the Americans like to call racing’s world championships and which will be staged at San Diego’s Del Mar racecourse in November.
Gimme A Nother’s last race in South Africa was a facile win in the 1600m Grade 1 Empress Club Stakes at Turffontein in early April.
Amazingly, it was the fourth Empress Club triumph for her female bloodline, her mother Nother Russia having won the race twice and her granddam Mother Russia once. Breeding experts say female family lines seldom maintain such excellence – it’s a numbers thing, with mares only producing offspring once a year.
De Kock trained all three stars at his Randjesfontein yard north of Joburg – all for the famous Oppenheimer/Slack/Jell family of owners.
Mother Russia won 13 of her 27 races, including four Grade 1s, and was runner-up in another four. The great race mare had only one foal at stud before she died prematurely at six. This was Nother Russia, who won eight of 18, with two Grade 1s.
De Kock has said the youngest in the family line “might be better than the grandmother … and the mother”.
Local racing fans will be justifiably bereft at having the cream of their female thoroughbreds whisked away, but international glory beckons – not to mention the leap in value that might be added to local bloodlines.
*** Pic horse GIMME A NOTHER ***
