Gimme Credit Heads Ashley T Cole

When trainer Chad Brown claimed Gimme Credit in March for $50,000, the 7-year-old gelding hadn’t won a race in nearly three years, but Brown saw promise.

“We thought he was a classy horse,” said Brown, who claimed the son of Artax for Michael Dubb. “He’d run some good races at different times in his career, and we just decided to try our hand with him to see if we could get him to run back to some of those races.”

Gimme Credit’s new connections thought so much of him that they ran him back first off the claim in the $100,000 Kingston Stakes at Belmont Park on May 30, in which he was shuffled wide on the turn and finished fourth. Sunday afternoon he will get another chance to prove himself in stakes company when facing six other New York-breds in the 35^th running of the $100,000 Ashley T. Cole, a 1 1/8-mile turf race.

Since the Kingston, Gimme Credit has run twice, winning a one-mile allowance optional claimer on the turf at Monmouth Park June 25, and finishing third in a 1 1/16-mile race with the same conditions on August 7. Sunday will be his third attempt in the Ashley T. Cole, having run fourth beaten two lengths over yielding turf in the race last year and sixth over soft ground in 2008 when trained by Tim Hills.

“He’s been very consistent for us,” Brown said. “He hasn’t put in a bad effort for me yet. He seems to run well anywhere, but I know he likes Belmont and I think he deserves another shot in a stakes race.”

Gimme Credit has never won at 1 1/8 miles, but Brown said the distance was not a major concern to him.

“When I first got him, just looking at his past performances and the way he trained, I thought a mile to 1 1/16 miles was perfect for him,” Brown said. “Now that I’ve had him longer, I’m not as worried about it because he seems to settle and finish well.”

Javier Castellano has the call aboard the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the Ashley T. Cole and the pair will leave from post position 3.

Second-choice on the morning line at 5-2 is Thomas Mina’s Uncle T Seven. Off for nearly three months following a close second to Minnie Punt in the Kingston, Uncle T Seven finished fourth in his comeback effort, the Vic Ziegel Memorial on the main track at Saratoga Race Course August 27.

Trained by John Kimmel, the 4-year-old Freud colt has competed on both turf and dirt over the course of his career, with one win and a pair of second-place finishes in six grass starts. He is still seeking his first win of the year, having last visited the winner’s circle for the New York Stallion Stakes Thunder Rumble Division on November 15.

Julien Leparoux has the call from post 7.

Writingonthewall carries a three-race win streak from Saratoga into the Ashley T. Cole, and will run back on short rest having posted a gate-to-wire victory in a 1 1/16-mile turf optional claimer at the Spa on September 5.

On August 14, the gelded son of E Dubai posted a front-running victory at the same distance against fellow statebreds, and a week later wired the field the field in a one-mile open allowance race.

Trained by Carlos Martin for Flying Zee Stables, he will leave from post 6 with Jose Lezcano at 6-1 on the morning line.

Completing the field are Pocket Cowboys, who missed by a length in 1 1/8-mile West Point on the grass at Saratoga in his most recent effort; Solvent, who exits a fourth-place finish in a turf allowance at Monmouth; Piazza Di Spagna, fifth in allowance company on the grass at Saratoga and Spa City Fever, who was fifth in the West Point. Haynesfield, Giant Moon and Manteca may run if this race is moved to the main track.

The field for the $100,000 Ashley T. Cole