by Todd Haight, for Batavia Downs

Batavia, NY — No stranger to the winner’s circle in 2006, extremely talented trotter Cade Callihan closed with a rush to notch his 14th victory of the season in the featured $10,000 Open Trot on Friday night (Nov. 24) at Batavia Downs Gaming.

Batavia Downs photo

Cade Callihan closed with a rush to notch his 14th victory of the season.

Owned by Edward Dee, Edward Belica and the estate of Eugene Sackmann, Cade Callihan, with the meet’s leading driver Jim Morrill, Jr., trotted his usual mile, racing far back early in the pack as Gamesmanship and Keith Kash, Jr. took the field of seven to the opening quarter in :29.1.

Racing to the half, Gamesmanship had a comfortable lead, trotting in :59.4. Heading to three-quarters in 1:29.4, Gamesmanship continued on top but was now feeling the pressure of a first over CSI Turn And Burn with Jim McNeight in the sulky.

Approaching the top of the stretch, CSI Turn And Burn had now come on to take a short lead with Gamesmanship trying to fight back along the rail. Meanwhile, a second-over Cade Callihan was beginning to lengthen his stride and last week’s Open Trot winner Best Image (Kevin Cummings) was also on the move third-over.

Down the stretch they trotted, and CSI Turn And Burn came away with the lead but it was a tenuous one as “Cade” and Morrill had all the momentum and were storming down the center while Best Image was closing strongly on the far outside.

At the line it was Cade Callihan who got to the wire first, winning by a half length over Best Image. CSI Turn And Burn ended up 2-1/4 lengths back in third.

Trained by Jim Graham, Cade Callihan, a 4-year-old son of Ilooklikemymom, raised his seasonal bankroll to over $48,000. Going off as the prohibitive favorite, “Cade” returned $3.30 to win.

In The Zone

Smashing the Batavia Downs record every time he sits in the bike as his drives have earned over $640,000 this season, reinsman Jim Morrill, Jr. might be the hottest driver in North America right now.

In the last three nights of racing at America’s oldest lighted harness track, the 42-year-old Morrill has won with 18 of his last 34 drives for a win percentage of over 52%. The former Meadowlands regular currently leads all North American drivers with over 500 drives with a Universal Driver Rating of .517.

Be My Valentine repeats in Filly and Mare Open

Taking advantage of her tactical speed, Be My Valentine got away in the pocket, sat the two hole trip until the top of the stretch, angled out for the drive, and wore down pace setter Magic Sugar (Keith Kash, Jr.) to win the co-featured $8,500 Mares Open Pace by a quarter length in 1:57 flat.

Be My Valentine ($3.50), with Jim Morrill, Jr. in the sulky, won for the 13th time this season and raised her seasonal earnings to nearly $57,000. She now has lifetime earnings over $126,000.

Owned by Robert Kowalewski, “Valentine” is trained by the track’s leading conditioner Paul Szalay, Jr.

Racing resumes on Saturday

Live racing resumes on Saturday night with post time set for 7:35 p.m.

The feature race is race nine, the $9,200 Open II Pace. Light And Sound N, with Mark Gilmour, the son of Hall of Famer Buddy Gilmour, starts out at 5-2 on the morning line.

Only four race programs remain in the 2006 racing season at Batavia Downs Gaming. Racing will end with a doubleheader on December 2.

In addition to live racing, Batavia Downs Gaming offers the best of simulcast action in a state of the art simulcast center located across the street at the former Matty’s Pizzeria and Video Gaming. The Gaming floor is open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.