Duvet Day relishes marathon distance of Astra Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. - Duvet Day was winless in her first three starts in turf stakes, at distances ranging from 1 1/4 miles to 1 3/8 miles. It turns out those races were not long enough.

Going 1 1/2 miles on turf, Duvet Day rallied from eighth to record a 13-1 upset in Saturday’s Grade 3 Astra Stakes for fillies and mares at Santa Anita. Ridden by Kazushi Kimura, Duvet Day finished 1 1/4 lengths in front of stretch leader and runner-up Queen Ofthe Temple, the 5-2 second choice in a field of nine.

Duvet Day was timed in 2:28.12 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 89.

“This is what she wants,” winning trainer Michael McCarthy said of the distance.

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Duvet Day ($28.80) was eighth with a quarter-mile remaining and still fifth in the stretch while launching a wide rally. She reached the front in the final sixteenth.

The $102,000 Astra Stakes was the second stakes win in as many weekends for Kimura, the leading rider at Woodbine the last two years. Kimura is riding at Santa Anita this winter.

Queen Ofthe Temple, third in the Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf at Del Mar in November, had her best stakes result with the second in the Astra Stakes. She finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of third-place finisher Australia Mia, a Chilean import trained by McCarthy.

Australia Mia, a two-time Group 2 winner in Chile in 2022, was the 8-5 favorite even though she had not raced since a second in a Group 3 stakes last July.

Ridden by Frankie Dettori, Australia Mia tracked pacesetter Lady Clementine through early fractions of 24.36 for the opening quarter-mile and 48.15 for a half-mile, but could not keep pace with Queen Ofthe Temple and Duvet Day in the final furlong.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect,” McCarthy said of Australia Mia. “It was a good effort.”

Almost a Factor finished fourth, followed by Warrens Candy Girl, New Heat, Barrister’s Ride, Lady Clementine and Tiz an Edventure.

Duvet Day races for Burt and Jane Bacharach and Richard Schatz. A 4-year-old Irish-bred filly by Starspangledbanner, Duvet Day was sixth in the Red Carpet and eighth in the Grade 1 American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles after a wide trip on Dec. 26 in her final two starts of 2022.

Duvet Day has won 3 of 13 starts and earned $178,313. She won consecutive races at 1 3/8 miles on turf last year – a maiden race at Churchill Downs in May and an allowance race at Del Mar in July.

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