Godolphin's Loved Becomes Graded Winner in Falls City
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Photo: Coady Media/Renee Torbit
Loved wins the Falls City Stakes on Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs
Loved grabbed the lead from Musical Mischief at the top of the stretch and opened a commanding lead to hold off 8-5 favorite Tarifa and easily win the Nov. 28 $399,505 Falls City Stakes (G3) by 3 3/4 lengths as Godolphin-owned and -bred females finished one-two in the traditional Thanksgiving Day fixture at Churchill Downs.
Trained by Brendan Walsh and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Loved ran 1 1/8 miles over a muddy track in 1:50.17 to collect her first graded stakes win. In July, the 5-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro won the $100,000 Mari Hulman George Memorial Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
"Brendan and his team really had her ready to go today," Gaffalione said. "She's been a nice filly throughout her career and put things together today to get a graded stakes win."
A late bloomer, Loved showed plenty of promise during the first half of her 4-year-old season in 2023 with three consecutive victories by a combined 28 lengths. She finished fourth as the second betting choice in her stakes debut, the $500,000 Molly Pitcher Stakes (G3) at Monmouth Park in July of 2023, her final start of the year.
The Falls City was Loved's fifth start this season.
"We were pretty confident with her coming into this race," Walsh said. "She's been training at Turfway and within the last three weeks really started to put things together. She was training and moving great in the mornings. We're glad she was able to do that when it mattered today and become a graded stakes winner."
Breaking from post 6 in the field of eight fillies and mares, Loved raced between horses in fifth down the backstretch as Enclosure had an uncontested lead with quarter-mile splits of :23.60, :47.41, and 1:11.76. Loved moved into third nearing the final turn and was full of run. Musical Mischief, the winner of September's Locust Grove Stakes (G2), and Loved caught Enclosure midway around the turn and then Loved dashed past Musical Mischief at the top of the stretch with a three-wide move. She took charge with a three-length lead in the stretch as three-time, grade 2-winning 3-year-old filly Tarifa chased to run a good second in her debut against elders.
"She ran a good race," said Brad Cox, trainer of Tarifa. "She sat a good trip but give credit to the winner who ran a big race and Godolphin who owned the top two finishers."
Loved paid $10.64, $4.78, and $3.12 as the 4-1 third betting choice. Tarifa, ridden by Flavien Prat, returned $3.46 and $3.18. It was another three lengths back in third to 25-1 longshot Lexa , who paid $7.04 to show under Joseph Ramos.
Neon Icon , Enclosure, 9-5 second choice Musical Mischief, Peignoir , and Quatro Y Vinte completed the order of finish.
With the Falls City win, Loved improved her overall record to five wins in 10 starts. Thursday's $240,455 first prize jumped her earnings to $585,955.
Loved was bred in Kentucky by her owner. She is out of the Bernardini mare Velvety, making her a half sister to dual grade 1 winner and Darley stallion Maxfield.