Duvet Day Attempts to Defend Off Layoff in Astra

Duvet Day scores in the 2023 Astra and will attempt to do it again. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire) 

+ O’Neill Has Big Day Friday With Three Winners
+ Carryover Leads To $2,329 Payout In Friday’s Pick 6
+ Work Tab: Gold Phoenix Has 1 Drill Since Breeders’ Cup

Santa Anita Stable Notes By Victor Ryan

ARCADIA, Calif.—Duvet Day earned the biggest win of her career in last year’s Astra Stakes when going the marathon distance of 1 ½ miles on turf. On Sunday, following a seven-month layoff, the 5-year-old Starspangledbanner mare will try and equal that feat for trainer Michael McCarthy.

Duvet Day is the 5-2 co-second choice on the morning line behind favorite Linda’s Gift (2-1), for trainer Richard Mandella, who is the only other stakes winner in the field. Linda’s Gift proved her affinity for longer distance last out when taking the GIII Red Carpet going 1 3/8 miles at Del Mar on Nov. 23.

Duvet Day has not started since last June when finishing fourth against males in the grassy GIII San Juan Capistrano at about 1 ¾ miles at Santa Anita. She has been preparing for her comeback at San Luis Rey Downs where she’s worked seven times since Dec. 2. 

“She’s doing well, and I expect a good effort,” McCarthy said. “Obviously she won the race last year. She should relish the distance.”

Duvet Day Sunday will be reunited with Kazushi Kimura, who was aboard for the win in last year’s Astra. She is owned by Jane Bacharach, Richard Schatz and Cedros. 

Linda’s Gift’s win in the Red Carpet was a breakthrough victory that came under ideal circumstances. With Tiago Pereira up, the 5-year-old Arrogate mare was able to set a soft pace while uncontested. In the stretch, she had just enough left in the tank late to earn her first stakes victory by a half-length. The runner-up, Musical Rhapsody, also returns in the Astra as one of three entered for top turf trainer Phil D’Amato. 

Mandella acknowledged the favorable setup for Linda’s Gift in the Red Carpet, but also noted she may have found her niche going long on turf. Her only prior start beyond 1 1/16 miles came in a 1 1/8-mile allowance as a 3-year-old in 2022. 

“It didn’t hurt,” Mandella said of the favorable pace setup in the Red Carpet. “But I don’t know if that’s what she needs to do, to be on the lead. It worked out that day. We’re anxious to run her again at a long distance.”

On paper, it seems unlikely Linda’s Gift will get a similar pace setup and trip in the Astra.  Both Leisurewear (5-1) for D’Amato and Rose Barton (12-1) for trainer Patrick Gallagher have recent gate-to-wire victories on their resume.

D’Amato also entered Lakota Spirit, who like Duvet Day is 5-2 on the morning line. Lakota Spirit exits a pace-compromised second in the GIII Robert J. Frankel at 1 1/8 miles here Dec. 30. In the Frankel, Angel Nadeshiko was allowed to set a soft pace while being unpressured. Lakota Spirit eventually made-up ground in the stretch but fell a half-length short. 

The Astra Stakes goes as the sixth race on Sunday’s eight-race card. 

The Astra Stakes Field

1 Yarborough, Frankie Dettori (12-1)

2 Leisurewear, Flavien Prat (5-1)

3 Lakota Spirit, Juan Hernandez (5-2)

4 Rosa Barton, Drayden Van Dyke (12-1)

5 Duvet Day, Kazushi Kimura (5-2)

6 Linda’s Gift, Tiago Pereira (2-1)

7 Musical Rhapsody, Mike Smith (5-1)

O’Neill Has Big Day Friday With Three Wins 

Trainer Doug O’Neill was the star of the show Friday at Santa Anita. The two-time Kentucky Derby-winning conditioner won three of the first four races, all with different jockeys.

O’Neill won the opener with  ($5.60), ridden by Antonio Fresu; the third race with Ship and Scam ($6.80) under Mario Gutierrez and the fourth race with Phenom ($4.80), who had Frankie Dettori in the irons. 

The hat trick gives O’Neill seven wins at the Classic Meet. He is now fourth in the

O’Neill on Saturday has five horses entered in Santa Anita. He has Syntactic (8-1) in the fourth race; favorite Potential Scam(5-2) and Bigredsandribeyes (5-1) in the fifth race; and both Kantharo d’Oro (4-1) and Player B (6-1) in the ninth and final.

Carryover Leads To $2,329 Payout In Friday’s Pick 6

Aided by a carryover of $100,634,40, and spurred by an 18-1 winner, Friday’s $1 Pick Six returned $2,329.30 to 225 winning tickets. 

Starting with the third race, the Pick 6 sequence winners were Ship And Scam ($6.80), Phenom ($4.80), Eltonsingsanother ($3.60), Teen Drama ($3.20), See Through It ($38) and Neon Lights ($5.60).

See Through It’s win for trainer Salvador Naranjo with Tiago Pereira up came over odds-on favorite Hopkins, last year’s GII Palos Verdes winner who was returning from a nearly 10-month layoff for trainer Bob Baffert. 

Saturday’s Pick Six begins with the fourth race at approximately 2:02 p.m. PT.

Work Tab: Gold Phoenix Has 1 Drill Since Breeders’ Cup

On a busy Saturday morning at Santa Anita Grade I winner Gold Phoenixworked for the first time since finishing fourth in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Turf here Nov. 4. 

Trained by Phil D’Amato, Gold Phoenix went an easy three furlongs in 38.0 seconds. As a 4-year-old last year, the Ireland-bred Belardo gelding won the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile, GII Eddie Read and GII Del Mar Handicap. He has earnings of $1,221,757 for owners Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables and Marsha Naify. 

Also on Saturday, National Treasure had his final serious work before heading to Gulfstream Park for next Saturday’s GI, $3 million Pegasus World Cup. The 4-year-old Quality Road colt drilled four furlongs in 46.80 seconds for trainer Bob Baffert. Last year, National Treasure notably won the Preakness Stakes and was second by a nose to likely Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Also working for Baffert Saturday was recent GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner Wynstock. In his second drill since taking the Futurity on Dec. 16, the Solomini colt went six furlongs in 1:12.80. He is 2-for-4 with $162,740 in earnings for owners Ed Allred and Jack Liebau. 

With wet weather possible over the next three days, there were 235 timed workouts Saturday morning.

FINISH LINES________________

The $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 returns Sunday starting at 12:36 p.m. with the eighth race from Gulfstream Park…
Trainer John Sadler and owner Kosta Hronis, who have had success making high-priced claims in the past, red-taggedIt’s My House out of Saturday’s second race for $62,500. It’s My House was the 4-5 favorite and finished second by a half-length for trainer Mark Glatt…
Stakes action next weekend includes the GII San Pasqual on Saturday and Clockers’ Corner on Sunday. The San Pasqual is for older horses at 1 1/8 miles on dirt, while the Clockers’ Corner is for older horses on the hillside turf course on Sunday… 
Santa Anita Loyalty and Marketing Ambassador Sebastian Piscuskas will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 11:20 a.m.