The racing world lost one of its highest-profile supporters when award-winning musician Burt Bacharach died on Feb. 8 of this year, but Duvet Day made sure he had one last hit on his resume.
The 4-year-old Starspangledbanner filly overcame traffic to win the listed Astra Stakes on Jan. 21 at Santa Anita Park, highlighting a career that took a brief detour at the 2022 Keeneland April Horses of All Ages Sale.
“That particular filly was the last winner that Burt Bacharach had,” said trainer Michael McCarthy. “It was a big deal for him.”
McCarthy trained horses for Bacharach and his wife Jane for just under a year at the time of the musician's death, and he continues to condition the couple's horses for Jane, who remains active with the stable after Burt's death.
Bacharach had owned racehorses over the span of seven decades, including champion Heartlight No. One and Grade 1 winner Afternoon Deelites and Soul of the Matter
“He was a wonderful man, loved his horses,” McCarthy said. “He was very well-versed on the game.”
Duvet Day was already running for McCarthy and the Bacharachs prior to the 2022 Keeneland April sale, after the filly was purchased privately following a pair of runner-up efforts in her native Ireland. She went into the sale to dissolve the partnership, and when the ticket went to De Burgh Equine for $72,000, the Bacharachs remained part of the filly's ownership group. Elite consigned Duvet Day, as agent.
The time through the ring apparently did Duvet Day some good. She won her next two starts after the Keeneland April sale: first a 1 3/8-mile maiden special weight at Churchill Downs, and then an allowance optional claiming race at Del Mar.
McCarthy said the filly's gameplan changed after the sale, and the decision quickly paid dividends.
“Added furlongs and maturity,” the trainer said. “She'll come back and run next week going a mile and a half in the Santa Barbara (at Santa Anita Park). She's by Starspangledbanner out of a Montjeu mare, so there's plenty of stamina there. She gave me the impression she'd run all day. These races out here in California seem to get lighter and lighter all the time, so it's a good spot for her to be in.”
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.Duvet Day finished the season facing graded stakes competition, but she was still seeking her first black type victory at the end of 2022. The Bacharachs also took on a new partner in the horse in Richard Schatz.
That streak was quickly snapped at the start of 2023 in the 1 1/2-mile Astra Stakes on Jan. 21, where Duvet Day overcame a slow start, and getting bottled in on the rail to get free at the right time, swing six wide, and pull away by 1 1/4 lengths. She followed that effort with her first graded black type, when she was third in the G3 Santa Ana Stakes on March 12 at the same track.
Even though McCarthy didn't gain or lose a horse when Duvet Day went through the Keeneland April ring, he still had plenty of incentives to shop at the racing age sales, which he gladly takes when the opportunity is right.
“You get to see what you're getting your hands on, if they're a multiple starter,” the trainer said. “You get an idea of what their ability level is. You see some of those that look they might be good candidates for the 'Ship and Win' program, or maybe they could use a firmer turf course, something like that. You're always looking for angles. Buying some of those horses that come from New York or Kentucky and taking them out to California has served us well.”
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