Gin Gin pulls off 38-1 shocker in Doubledogdare

After a dull effort in her season debut in mid-January, the managers at Calumet Farm transferred the four-year-old filly Gin Gin from Brad Cox to Brendan Walsh in the hopes he could answer a lingering question: Did Gin Gin still want to be a racehorse?

The answer following the $350,000 Doubledogdare (G3) at Keeneland on Friday was an emphatic "yes." Sent off as the 38-1 longest shot in the 1 1/16-mile test for fillies and mares, Gin Gin trounced a field a of far more accomplished rivals.

"I wasn't sure what to expect," Walsh admitted. "To be fair, she hasn't done anything wrong since she came to us. Hopefully, she can build on it."

Under Jose Ortiz, Gin Gin followed former juvenile filly champion Just F Y I until the far turn, when Ortiz asked for a bid. She met no resistance from Just F Y I, who virtually stopped before entering the stretch and was pulled up.

Just F Y I was given a courtesy van ride back to the barn, where she was being monitored while cooling out.

Getting the jump on her other rivals, Gin Gin kicked clear through the short stretch to win by 5 1/4 lengths. She finished up in 1:45.15 over a fast track and paid $79.76.

Multiple Grade 2 winner Tarifa, who broke last, rallied for second, a half-length ahead of Grade 1 veteran Candied. Multiple Grade 1-placed Occult finished fourth, Neon Icon was fifth, and Dreaming of Mo was eased to the finish.

Gin Gin won the Busanda S. at Aqueduct a year ago in January and had also been distantly placed in the Rags to Riches S., Busher S., and Gazelle (G3). However, the rest of her form hardly suggested she would put up the kind of performance she did in the Doubledogdare.

Gin Gin went to the sidelines after last year's Kentucky Oaks (G1), where she was beaten 38 lengths in to 12th in a field of 14. Her aforementioned comeback, in a Fair Grounds allowance on Jan. 17, was similarly lackluster as she beat only one rival to the finish while losing by 15 3/4 lengths. But she is now a graded stakes winner, with three wins from 10 starts.

Born and raised at the historic Calumet nursery located next to Keeneland, Gin Gin is a daughter of Hightail and the Grade 3-placed Before You Know It, a daughter of Hard Spun. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) winner Hard to Justify also hails from this family.