Sixtythreecaliber returns to winning ways July 19 at Saratoga (NYRA/Coglianese)
Hoosier Philly to G3 Charles Town Oaks
NYRA Press Office
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.— MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm’s graded stakes winner Sixtythreecaliber will try the top flight again in Friday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign, a nine-furlong main track test for older fillies and mares, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Tom Amoss, Sixtythreecaliber won last out going one mile in an optional claiming tilt on July 19 at the Spa. The 4-year-old daughter of Gun Runner settled along the rail about three lengths off the pace in fourth-of-5 through the top of the lane. To the delight of many MyRacehorse owners waiting outside of the winner’s circle, Sixtythreecaliber surged from the three-path in mid-stretch to win by a neck.
“She’s a little quirky. She’s a horse that likes to be in her own little world and does not run well inside of horses,” said Amoss. “It took her a long time to get out and get the kind of trip where she had some room. As soon as she did, she responded well.”
Despite winning after an undesirable trip, the Personal Ensign will be a tall order for Sixtythreecaliber, taking on last year’s Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Nest, multiple Grade 1-winner Clairiere and last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks-winner Secret Oath.
“It’s a very difficult spot. You got a Champion in there who’s come back and run just as impressively or more than when she was three-years-old,” Amoss said. “Sixtythreecaliber deserves an opportunity in a race like this. She’s been ultra-consistent and is a graded stakes winner who’s already won this summer over the Saratoga track.”
Sixtythreecaliber boasts a 12-6-1-1 record with a win in the Grade 3 Comely in November at Aqueduct to close her sophomore campaign. She returned to action in January with an off-the-board effort in the Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic at Sam Houston then tried Grade 1 company in May in the La Troienne at Churchill Downs, finishing eighth-of-10.
Gold Standard Racing Stable’s Hoosier Philly was entered for July’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at the Spa, but scratched with a minor foot issue. The talented Grade 2 winner will be back in the starting gate on Friday in the Grade 3, $750,000 Charles Town Oaks, going seven furlongs.
“She’s doing well. We feel very comfortable in a bull ring type [of oval] with her, she’s very athletic,” said Amoss. “I’ve raced on this track before and had success there. I do think you have to be in a situation where you get a clean trip. That’s going to be really important.”
Last out on June 17, Hoosier Philly bested next-out CCA Oaks-winner Wet Paint in the one-mile Monomoy Girl at Ellis Park. The gray daughter of Into Mischief ran uncontested on the front end before drawing away, a strategy she attempted a month earlier when caught by Taxed for second in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico.
Hoosier Philly, a $510,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, now holds a 7-4-1-1 record with a win the Grade 2 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs as a juvenile.
Greg Tramontin’s Alys Beach is a promising filly for Amoss, winning first time out in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden tilt on July 30 at Saratoga. The daughter of Omaha Beach rallied inside of several foes to win her debut in a photo finish. Amoss was impressed with the rail-running stretch drive, and said the filly lived up to his expectations.
“I remember her at the sale. She walked out of the shed and the first thing that caught my attention was her engine, her rear end,” Amoss recalls. “I thought to myself ‘she’s going to have to have a lot wrong with her up front for me not to be interested.’ I was very impressed.”
Amoss added Alys Beach will be pointed towards the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway on September 3.
