Gimme a Nother, Alpyland Lead Graded Stakes at Colonial

Newstead Stables' Gimme a Nother , a multiple group 1 winner in her home country of South Africa before shipping stateside, seeks her third consecutive domestic graded stakes victory in the $500,000 Beverly D. Stakes (G2T) Aug. 1 at Colonial Downs.

The Graham Motion trainee impressed last time out in the Eatontown Stakes (G3T) June 13 at Monmouth Park, where she returned off a nine-month layoff to win by 3 1/2 lengths over her rivals, including graded stakes winner Whiskey Decision  and subsequent Matchmaker Stakes (G3T) winner Grayosh .

Even though the Eatontown was her sole start this year, she also won the John C. Mabee Stakes (G2T) last September at Del Mar by 1 1/4 lengths against a field of multiple graded stakes performers. 

"She ended up having a bit more time off than we'd wanted because she had a couple of little issues over the winter," Motion said. "I definitely thought she was ready to run (in the Eatontown), and I ran her there with this race in mind."

The well-traveled 6-year-old daughter of top South African sire Gimmethegreenlight  also put up a hard-fought effort in the Canadian Stakes (G2T) last summer at Woodbine, where she lost to Ready for Shirl🔥  by a head after leading most of the race.

Looking to get back to her flashy graded stakes form, Three Diamonds Farm's Pin Up Betty  enters the Beverly D. off an ungraded stakes win in the June 27 Anchorage Stakes at Churchill Downs, where she drew off by 2 lengths over fellow Beverly D. contender Way to Be Marie . Pin Up Betty also captured the Anchorage the previous year.

A multiple graded stakes winner and performer, Pin Up Betty stands tall in the 1 3/16-mile race with more than $1.2 million in earnings from her 24 starts.

Other major players in the 12-horse lineup of fillies and mares include Somethinabouther , Achieve , and Stellify . The latter will look to fire fresh after an extended hiatus following a seventh in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) last fall at Del Mar.

Somethinabouther, meanwhile, steps up in class after a confidence-building victory in an off-the-turf allowance optional claimer June 25 at Churchill Downs.

Alpyland Looks for More Success

In career-best form, D. J. Stable's Alpyland  seeks to extend his win streak to three in the $500,000 Secretariat Stakes (G2T) Saturday, one race prior to the Beverly D., at Colonial Downs.

After winning the Penn Mile Stakes (G3T) by 4 lengths in late May, the Mark Casse trainee took the June 27 American Derby at Churchill Downs by 3 1/2 lengths in his most recent start, where the Vekoma   gelding earned a career-best Equibase Speed Figure of 103. The American Derby came at the Secretariat Stakes distance of 1 1/16 miles on turf.

Alpyland is out of the Kela mare Il Brigante , and was picked up by D. J. Stable for $185,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale from the Vinery Sales consignment. Two years later, the talented gelding holds $724,706 in career earnings and has four wins from six starts this season. 

Other contenders in the turf race for 3-year-olds include Turf Star , Conducted , Fuzzbuster , Supercharger , Vino Solo , Infiltrate , and Redland Rebels . Fuzzbuster and Street Beast  are cross-entered in separate races at Ellis Park this weekend and could race there rather than Colonial