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Keeneland’s April All-Stars: Duvet Day Gave Bacharach One Last Thrill

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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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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Frosted Colt Tops OBS Spring Sale’s Second Session

Hip No. 449, a son of Frosted consigned by Longoria Training & Sales, Agent, went to Donato Lanni, Agent, for $900,000 to top the second session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2023 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

The bay colt, whose eighth in :9 3/5 was co-fastest at the distance at Tuesday's Under Tack session, is out of Handwoven, by Indian Charlie, a half-sister to graded stakes placed Flatter Than Me.

– Hip No. 510, a son of Justify consigned by Paul Sharp, Agent, was sold to Mick Wallace, Agent for Gandharvi Stable, for $750,000. The bay colt, who sped an eighth in :10 flat on Tuesday, is out of Iadorakid, by Lemon Drop Kid, a half-sister to champion El Tormenta.

– Hip No. 320, a colt by Bolt d'Oro consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, was sold to K. Radcliffe for Lady Sheila Stable LLC & Partners for $700,000. The gray or roan colt, who breezed an eighth on Monday in :10 1/5, is out of Elusive Wave, by Mizzen Mast, a full-sister to Grade 1 winner Mizdirection.

– Clay Scherer, Agent, paid $700,000 for Hip No. 532, a daughter of Omaha Beach consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth on Wednesday in :9 4/5, the day's co-fastest at the distance, is a half-sister to stakes placed Count Alexander out of Intelyhente, by Smart Strike, a half sister to graded stakes winner Bel Air Beauty.

– Hip No. 570, a son of Lookin At Lucky consigned by Cortez Racing and Sales, Agent, went to West Bloodstock, Agent for Repole Stable, Inc. for $700,000. The bay colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat on Wednesday, is out of stakes winner Joffe's Run, by Giant's Causeway, a daughter of graded stakes placed stakes winner Laguna Seca.

– Hip No. 466, a son of Omaha Beach who breezed an eighth in :9 4/5 on Tuesday, was purchased for $650,000 by Spendthrift Farm and Nice Guys Stables. Consigned by Mayberry Farm, Agent, the chestnut colt is out of graded stakes placed Heavenly Hill, by City Zip, a daughter of graded stakes winner Pleasant Hill.

– Muir Hut Stables LLC went to $575,000 for Hip No. 450, a son of Ghostzapper consigned by Paul Sharp, Agent. The chestnut colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Tuesday, is out of Hannahanna, by Malibu Moon, a half sister to graded stakes winner Silent Bird.

For the day, 180 horses brought a total of $23,468,000 compared with 191 selling for a total of $26,114,500 at last year's second session. The average price was $130,378 compared to $136,725 in 2022 while the median price was $65,000 compared with $75,000 a year ago. The buyback percentage was 20.7 percent; it was 12.8 percent last year.

The Spring Sale continues Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Hip No.'s 613 – 918 will be offered for sale.

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Triple Crown Winner Justify Shuttling To Coolmore Australia For 2023 Southern Hemisphere Season

Justify, the Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year in 2018, will once again shuttle to Coolmore Australia for the 2023 Southern Hemisphere breeding season after a successful freshman year on the continent, Racing Post reports.

The 8-year-old son of Scat Daddy is in the midst of the North American breeding season at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., where he stands for an advertised fee of $100,000. His oldest Northern Hemisphere foals are 3-year-olds of 2023, including Kentucky Derby contender Verifying, who finished second in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes.

Justify is Australia's leading freshman sire, with combined progeny earnings on the continent of $1,618,175. His best Australian runner to date is Learning to Fly, a filly whose group stakes conquests include the Group 2 Reisling Stakes.

“We welcome Justify back to Australia with open arms, on the back of a remarkable start to his stud career,” Coolmore Australia's Tom Moore told Racing Post. “While it is only early days for him in Australia, he has already produced arguably the best two-year-old filly in Australia in Learning To Fly and is the leading first-season sire by a significant margin.

“The feedback we are getting from trainers throughout Australia suggests that this is only the tip of the iceberg for him in this part of the world,” Moore continued.

Justify last shuttled to Australia in 2021, marking the third consecutive season he had done so. In that time, he covered 373 mares on Southern Hemisphere time.

A Southern Hemisphere fee will be announced for Justify at a later time.

Bloodlines Presented By No-No Cribbing Collar: Fifty Years Later, Secretariat Looms Large In Kentucky Derby Pedigrees

Fifty years ago, the hottest topic in racing, as well as the subject of numerous comments and rumors from Las Vegas odds-maker Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, was Secretariat, the son of 1957 Horse of the Year Bold Ruler who had been named the 1972 Horse of the Year following his sterling juvenile campaign.

Coming into his 3-year-old season, Secretariat had been syndicated by Seth Hancock to stand at Claiborne Farm for a record sum of $6.08 million. The syndication was for breeding purposes only, and the reason for the timing in between seasons was to help satisfy the massive inheritance taxes that had become due after the death of Meadow Stud founder Christopher Chenery.

The chestnut champion opened his 3-year-old season with a smooth success in the Bay Shore Stakes, then followed with a track-record victory in the Gotham Stakes. In the latter, Secretariat had shown a different dimension, taking command of the race much earlier than in the past and cruising to a powerful win.

Then, Secretariat ran a stinker in the Wood Memorial, finishing third behind his stablemate Angle Light (Quadrangle) and archrival Sham (Pretense). It was the first time that Secretariat had finished behind an opponent since his debut, and it was the first time the champion had raced nine furlongs.

All the cliches about “Bold Rulers can't go that far” came into heavy use as soon as Secretariat passed the finish, and with three weeks to ponder the situation before the Derby, Secretariat's doubters came out in full force. In fairness, only eight years prior, another champion chestnut by Bold Ruler, the American-bred Bold Lad, had finished third in the Wood before going to Churchill Downs and winning the Derby Trial at a mile. Then he finished unplaced in the main event.

The gut-churning possibilities for those most closely connected to Secretariat were obvious, but those handling the colt, rider Ron Turcotte and trainer Lucien Laurin, remained stoic against the winds of rumor. The colt trained beautifully, even exceptionally, at the Downs in preparation for the Kentucky classic.

On the day, the sun shone brightly on the Kentucky Derby, and Secretariat shone even brighter. The doubts and skepticism were thrown aside and reams of praise were spun on the colt's behalf. The result seemed even more impressive as the newly minted “superhorse” came from off the pace to win in stakes and track record time over Sham and Our Native, with future multiple Horse of the Year Forego in fourth place.

As we approach the 50th anniversary of that record performance, it is worth noting that two sires born in 1970 feature in the pedigrees of every American-bred Kentucky Derby contender. Mr. Prospector (Raise a Native) will not be a surprise, but Secretariat is the other.

Despite the rumor that Secretariat was not a successful sire, his presence is essential in modern pedigrees, and typically, the 1973 Triple Crown winner is found not once in pedigrees but twice or three times, just like his exact contemporary. They are the two youngest sires found in all these pedigrees, although a younger pair (Deputy Minister 1979 and Unbridled 1987) are bidding to join them.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's Triple Crown, there is a new book available that focuses solely on the champion and his offspring, and particularly on their continuing contribution to the breed. Patricia McQueen (SECRETARIAT'S LEGACY BOOK | Patricia McQueen) has produced a gorgeously photographed volume of coffee-table dimensions that documents the sons and daughters of Secretariat and their descendants.

A journalist whose work in prose and pictures has been widely featured around the world, McQueen has traveled across the country and around the globe to report on and photograph the sons and daughters of Secretariat, in particular. Her book records not only the champions and memorable stakes winners by Secretariat but also the stallion's most noteworthy producers. Will statistics and lists of stakes winners and producers, this volume adds a significant chapter to the library of serious literature about racing and Secretariat, in particular.

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McQueen's commentary takes us from Secretariat's first Group 1 winner in England, Dactylographer, through Horse of the Year Lady's Secret and on to classic winner Risen Star. There are lovely color photo reproductions of these and other noteworthy racers, as well as horses who did not find themselves in the headlines.

Secretariat, in particular, remains vibrant in pedigrees through the excellence of his producing daughters Terlingua (Storm Cat), Secrettame (Gone West), and Weekend Surprise (A.P. Indy and Summer Squall), but there are a surprising number of other branches of transmission for Secretariat's athleticism and beauty.

As we enter the intense excitement of the Triple Crown, it is a pleasure to look back on these great memories and the horses who carry on a genetic legacy through the deeds of our current classic performers.

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