Heavily-favored Gamine added to her glowing resume with a 10-length romp in the $200,000, Grade 2 Great Lady M Stakes Monday – the final day of the Summer Thoroughbred Festival – at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif.
The 1-5 choice in the field of five, the 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief and the Kafwain mare Peggy Jane broke sharply under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, was headed briefly to her inside by 3-1 second choice Edgeway nearing the turn, then took charge from there to win without ever being asked for her best.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert for owner Michael Lund Petersen, Gamine is now 8-for-9 with earnings of $1,406,500. Six of her victories have come in graded events.
Gamine paid $2.40 and $2.10 in a race where there was no show wagering. She attracted $248,224 of the $292,855 wagered to place in the Great Lady M, creating a minus place pool of $33,822. She completed the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:14.98.
Bella Vita, the second longest shot in the field at 22-1, edged Road Rager, the longest price on the board at 45-1, by a neck for second. The place price on Bella Vita was $9.
Edgeway and Qahira, who is also trained by Baffert, completed the order of finish. Candura, Dynasty of Her Own and Eyes Open were scratched earlier in the day.
“It was nice to see a lot of people come to the paddock to get a good luck at her,'' said Baffert, who won the Great Lady M for the fourth time after scoring previously with Fantastic Style (2015) and Marley's Freedom (2018-2019).
“That's what great horses do. When she runs I get nervous and I'm more relieved after the race. She looked great and I'm glad she came through.
“She might be able to stretch out. She's getting older and more mature. That's one option I've been thinking about, but I don't know what we'll do next. I want to see how she comes out of this and I'll let her tell me.''
Velazquez, who has been aboard for all of Gamine's graded successes, is now 1-for-1 at Los Alamitos after Monday.
“I know she's quick and the other horse (third-place finisher Road Rager) showed speed and I knew the horse to beat (Edgeway) was inside of me,'' he said. “She relaxed and I let her do her thing around the turn and that was it from there.''
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