Kathynmarissa Reels in Gimme a Nother in F&M Turf

Kathynmarissa took on a star-studded international cast at Keeneland, and came home a winner by three-quarters of a length after surging past Gimme a Nother (SAF) in the final stages of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) Oct. 31 for owners Michael Caruso and Michael Dubb. Kathynmarissa, a 5-year-old daughter of American Pharoah, gave trainer Chad Brown his fifth win in the race. She is the first horse bred in the United States to win the race since Stephanie's Kitten took it in 2015. The mare has been a champion in the making. She entered the 2026 season without a graded stakes win on her résumé. Brown, who took over training duties in 2025, entered the filly in a confidence-boosting allowance optional claiming race in the summer of 2025 at Saratoga Race Course, which she took by 4 1/4 lengths. He then put her on the shelf until May 2026, when she took the Modesty Stakes (G3T) at Churchill Downs. After a strong summer campaign, which included a top-level win in the Diana Stakes (G1T), Kathynmarissa demanded respect from the best in the world at Keeneland. "First and foremost, to the horse," said Brown, on what he attributed to the mare's recent success. "She's done it on her own as far as development, her heart, her desire to win. She's very competitive. "And my team. They've done a tremendous job. So many people have contributed working with her, and they have her in career form. I'm sort of the conductor, so I'm just managing it all and pointing her in the right direction. My team deserves a lot of the credit, and so does Kathynmarissa—the heart of a champion." Brown expressed a lot of confidence in the mare ahead of the race, who broke alertly under jockey Jose Ortiz, who put her in the perfect position for the 1 3/16-mile race. "She broke alert and that helped me a lot," Ortiz said. "That was the plan (to be wide in the stretch). I wanted to (tuck) in on the first turn and on the second turn, I wanted to go outside. That's how she likes to run." Kathynmarissa traveled 2 1/2 lengths off the leader Classic Q, who took the field through opening fractions of :23.90, :47.76, and 1:11.85, with Expensive Queen (IRE), Lush Lips (GB), and Stellify putting the pressure on the Mark Casse trainee. Brown said he was concerned when Kathynmarissa was off the bridle on the turn, and the Graham Motion-trained Gimme a Nother was making a strong move on the inside. "Oftentimes this filly, she only grabs the bit in the lane and Jose, I can't say enough about how he's learned this filly and knows how to get along with her," Brown said. "We had a plan. That last conversation walking out with me and him to the track was reaffirming where if you get a good ground-saving position on that first turn, you can go wide as you want in that second turn because she's a clear-run horse, which we both know about her. I'm just so happy those two found each other because he's been a big part of her success." Coming down the long Keeneland stretch, it looked like Gimme a Nother was clear, making a ground-saving run up the inside, but Kathynmarissa's late charge proved too powerful. "One thing I learned about the 1 3/16 here is it plays more like 1 1/4 miles," Brown explained. "My stretch-out horses didn't get there; they got caught. So I had a lot of confidence that my filly, on a cut back from 1 1/4 (miles), did have the stamina. There was a question mark not knowing the other horses, but I know you can get caught here with a mile, 1 1/8-mile horse running this far." Newstead Stables' Gimme a Nother entered the race off four consecutive wins, including the E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T) Sept. 12 at Woodbine. The 6-year-old mare, who was bred in South Africa, was just the sixth South African-bred starter in the Breeders' Cup World Championships. "It looked like she almost got there too easily. I was afraid someone was going to be coming," Motion said. The final time for the race was 1:53.75. Kathynmarissa paid $13.24 to win as the third choice. Jancis (IRE) rallied from 11th to get third. Expensive Queen was fourth and Bless the Broken was fifth, with a pair of necks separating the third- through fifth-place finishers. Blue Bolt (IRE), who was sent off as the even-money favorite, finished next to last in 11th. Her jockey Colin Keane said, "At no point was she really as comfortable as you'd like to be. Ground felt horrible on her, and I was beat before the ship came in, to be honest." Kathynmarissa, who took her owners on the ride of a lifetime, will head to the sales ring Nov. 2 for Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale. She will be consigned by Gainesway, agent. Co-owner Michael Caruso was emotional after the win. "These guys (Brown and Dubb) have put me into what is heaven, and this is heaven," Caruso said. "This is why you do all the pushups. This is why you lift all the weights. This is why you do it all." It will undoubtedly be bittersweet for the whole team to watch its star head to a new home at the November sale. "My two Breeders' Cup winners are both leaving," Brown noted, having won the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) earlier on the card with Ways and Means, who is also being offered at Fasig-Tipton Monday. "I feel great today celebrating, but Monday night when they're gone, I'm going to be really sad about how I am going to replace these horses. "Somehow, someway, they come. You just have to hope the next ones come, but it's never a guarantee."