Sixtythreecaliber holds off Kathleen O. in Comely Stakes

Sixtythreecaliber improved her career record to 5 for 7 on Friday, when the 3-year-old filly held off the late charge of Kathleen O. in the Grade 3, $175,000 Comely at Aqueduct. She won by a half-length over the even-money favorite, while it was another 1 3/4 lengths back in third to Morning Matcha.

The Comely was one of four stakes on the card. The Grade 3 Long Island went to Temple City Terror ($3.30), while Acoustic Ave won his third straight stakes in the $100,000 Notebook and Nothing Better accounted for the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint.

Sixtythreecaliber ($24.40) was content to track the pace set by Tizzy in the Sky, who set fractions of 24.63 seconds for the opening quarter, 49.94 for the half-mile, and 1:15.06 for six furlongs. Sixtythreecaliber took the lead at the quarter pole and in the later stages had enough to hold off the fast-closing Kathleen O., who was making her first start since running fifth in the Kentucky Oaks. Sixtythreecaliber covered the 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:53.89.

"I had a perfect trip," winning rider Kendrick Carmouche told the publicity department for the New York Racing Association. "I just put her in the clear because that's the way she's run all the races when she won.

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“Going down the backside at the half-mile [pole], I reached and grabbed her and she jumped on the bit. I looked underneath my arms and knew I had to wait a little bit longer and then I pulled the trigger because nine times out of 10 on this track, as deep as it is, it takes a lot of strides for a horse to catch up with you. At the sixteenth pole, she kind of waited and then as soon as she saw [Kathleen O.], she pinned her ears and went right back at it again.”

It was the third straight win for Sixtythreecaliber, a Tom Amoss trainee whose streak began with a second-level allowance win at Horseshoe Indianapolis and continued with the Seneca, an overnight stakes at Churchill Downs.

Jockey Javier Castellano was pleased with the performance from multiple Grade 2 winner Kathleen O.

“The pace was very slow, in 49 and change and 1:15,” he told NYRA. “For those type of horses, they’re walking nearly every single step of the way. My horse is a come-from-behind horse and you can tell the way she did it today, she responded so well. I’m satisfied how she did it and I'm happy she came back in good order. I think this is the first step back for her. Unfortunately, the way the race developed today, it was hard for horses to come from behind but still, she almost did.”

Sixtythreecaliber, who was winning her first graded stakes in the Comely, has now earned $269,532. She is a daughter of Gun Runner who races for Spendthrift Farm and MyRacehorse. Sixtythreecaliber is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Gunmetal Gray.

Nothing Better wires Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship

Nothing Better ($20.20) led throughout for a half-length win over Anaconda in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship. It was another 1 3/4 lengths back in third to Thin White Duke.

Nothing Better set fractions of 22.16 seconds for the opening quarter and 44.37 for the half-mile before covering six furlongs on firm ground in a blazing 1:07.61. Horacio Karamanos was aboard for Colts Neck Stables and trainer Jorge Duarte Jr.

Nothing Better is a son of Munnings who has now won 7 of 18 starts for earnings of $356,317.

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