Keeneland: Gin Gin upsets Doubledogdare at 38-1 odds

Gin Gin, the longest price on the board at 38-1, shot to the front going into the final turn and drew off to a 5 1/4-length victory over Tarifa in the 30th running of the $350,000 Doubledogdare (G3) for fillies and mares Friday afternoon.

Trained by Brendan Walsh for owner-breeder Calumet Farm and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Gin Gin completed the 1 1/16 miles on a fast main track in 1:45.15. It is the second victory in the race for Ortiz, who won the 2019 edition aboard Electric Forest.

Champion Just F Y I led the field of seven through fractions of 23.19 and 47.70 seconds with Gin Gin tracking in second and Occult just to her outside. Approaching the final turn, Gin Gin and Occult moved to the front with Gin Gin owning a length advantage entering the stretch before pulling away.

The margin of victory is only surpassed by Dancethruthedawn’s 5 1/2-length score in 2002.

Gin Gin is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Hightail out of the Hard Spun mare Before You Know It. In posting her first graded-stakes victory, Gin Gin improved her record to 10-3-2-2 and increased her earnings to $461,596 with Friday’s $214,288 check.

Gin Gin rewarded her backers with payoffs of $79.76, $23 and $7.82 with the win mutuel being a record for the race. Tarifa rallied for second under Florent Geroux to return $5.82 and $3.70 with Candied finishing another half-length back in third under Irad Ortiz Jr. and paying $2.68 to show.

It was another three-quarters of a length back to Occult with Neon Icon and Dreaming of Mo following in order. Just F Y I did not finish. According to a Friday post on X from the Keeneland Racing account she was given a "courtesy ride" back to the barn, examined by an attending veterinarian, and walked the shed row to cool out after the race.

Ortiz said after the race that things went according to plan for Gin Gin. “The plan was to sit behind the speed and Just F Y I broke good and she went, so I just sat behind the speed like (trainer) Brendan (Walsh) told me. From there, I took her onto the backside and decided when to make the move, but the most important thing was I had horse.”

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, to be honest with you,” Walsh said. “Eddie Kane and Mr. (Brad) Kelley (farm manager and owner of Calumet Farm) asked me to take her and give her a shot to see if she still had an appetite for (racing) anymore. To be fair to her, she’s done nothing wrong since she came to us. She kind of lost her form at the end of last year, and I think she got a freshening. They did a fantastic job at the farm, actually. But she’s got some good back class, and it’s nice she showed it today. (Jockey) Jose (Ortiz) did a great job too.”