He debuted at the Sapporo Racecourse, taking second place. Afterwards, some of his other major wins were at the Arlington Cup, and Fuji TV Sho Spring Stakes. Gimlet also won at the
Tokyo Racecourse at the
Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), with jockey
Yutaka Take mounting him.
2002: three-year-old season and retirement In Tanino Gimlet's first two races as a three year old, he won the
Shinzan Kinen as well as the
Arlington Cup. In the trial race leading up to the
Satsuki Sho, the
Spring Stakes, Yoni Hirofumi replaced a injured Yutaka Take. Tanino Gimlet won by a neck in the race. At the Satsuki Sho, Tanino Gimlet was the favourite coming into the race, once again jockeyed by Yoni. However, in the race, he lost time by going wide into the last corner, and despite showing impressive speed and overtaking most horses in the straight, he was unable to pass the two horses ahead of him and finished third. The winner was the 15th-favorite, No Reason, who broke away from a good position. Yoni's rough riding at this time was often considered a clear jockey error, with commentators saying, "Tanino Gimlet was the only horse that ran 100 meters extra." Following the Satsuki Sho, Tanino Gimlet entered the
NHK Mile Cup with Yutaka Take at the helm returning after his injury. He was the favourite to win the race. As usual, he waited in the back and headed into the straight, but was at a disadvantage as Telegnosis's swerving blocked his path. He tried to catch up by changing course left and right, but finished third as Telegnosis won the race. He continued to have a tight schedule with only two weeks between races, but his next race was the Tokyo Yushun. He was again the favorite, and after waiting in the back as usual, he turned towards the straight and unleashed an explosive run down the slope, overtaking Symboli Kris S to win by a length. Yutaka Take then became the first jockey in history to win the Tokyo Yushun three times. After the Tokyo Yushun, he was trained at Ritto before being transferred to Yoshizawa Stable in Urakawa, Hokkaido for further training. He returned to Ritto on August 25th for the autumn season and continued to train smoothly thereafter. However, after training on September 1st, he developed a injury in his leg and was examined. This revealed that he had developed a
bowed tendon. He was diagnosed with a six-month recovery period, making him unable to race in the autumn season. After discussions between his owner Tanimizu, trainer Matsuda, and other related parties, it was decided that he would retire from racing, given the difficult road to recovery and the high expectations of his breeding farm. Gimlet's retirement ceremony was held at
Sapporo racecourse on August 24, 2003. ==Racing form==