LOUISVILLE, Ky.— Sixtythreecaliber needed every inch of the stretch to wear down pacesetter Falconet and win Saturday night’s second running of the $160,000 Seneca Overnight Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs by a neck.
Ridden by Edgar Morales and trained by Tom Amoss, Sixtythreecaliber ran 1 1/16 miles over a fast track in 1:44.22 to collect her fourth win in six starts. The winner’s share of $96,722 increased Sixtythreecaliber’s earnings to $173,282 for owners MyRacehorse (Michael Behrens) and Spendthrift Farm LLC (Eric P. Gustavson).
Sixtythreecaliber paid $24.92, $8.94 and $4.04 as the 11-1 fifth betting choice in the field of seven. Falconet, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, returned $4.38 and $3.28. It was another 1 ¼ lengths back to Skratch Kat in third under Joe Talamo, who paid $3.12 to show.
Turnerloose, 2-1 favorite Cocktail Moments, Take a Stand and Valentina Day completed the order of finish.
Breaking from the outside post position, Sixtythreecaliber tracked in third early on as Falconet raced clear on the lead through comfortable fractions of :24.38, :48.36 and 1:12.67. Turnerloose and Sixtythreecaliber engaged Falconet leaving the final turn, but the leader briefly kicked away again. A tiring but determined Falconet still had the advantage with a sixteenth of a mile to run but Sixtythreecaliber sustained her run and grinded past her rival in the final yards for the resolute win.
“So much credit has to go to Tom and his team,” Morales said. “He got this filly ready to fire a big race tonight. We sat in a good position and even though we were a little wide into the turn she was traveling comfortably. She kept grinding away in the stretch and had her best run late to be able to catch (Falconet). It was so much fun to hear so many people from MyRacehorse cheering for me. I’m so happy for them. That’s what makes racing so much fun.”
Fourth in the $200,000 Indiana Oaks (Grade III) in July, this was the first stakes win for the Horseshoe Indianapolis-based Sixtythreecaliber.
“Horses sometimes get in a groove during races and sometimes it works out,” Amoss said. “All credit goes to Edgar Morales who is so good at positioning these type of horses. He did a great job and our filly never showed any quit.”
Last weekend, Amoss and Morales teamed to win the $299,250 Iroquois Stakes (GIII) at Churchill Downs with 2-year-old Curly Jack.
Sixtythreecaliber was bred in Kentucky by Lee Pokoik. She is a daughter of Gun Runner out of the Include mare Classofsixtythree.
The race honors Seneca Park, which was the last park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted’s firm in Louisville. The park resides in the Louisville neighborhood of Seneca Gardens. It is part of the Cherokee-Seneca neighborhood, which is bounded by I-64 and other hilly neighborhoods.
Churchill Downs Press Release
Photo: Sixtythreecaliber wins the Seneca (Coady Photography)
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