Churchill Downs Thanksgiving Day Stakes Recaps and Quotes: Falls City and Cardinal

Nov 28, 2024

Loved grabbed the lead from Musical Mischief at the top of the stretch and opened a commanding lead to hold off 8-5 favorite Tarifa and easily win Thursday’s 109th running of the $400,000 Falls City (Grade III) by 3 ¾ lengths as Godolphin-owned and -bred females finished one-two in the traditional Thanksgiving Day fixture at Churchill Downs.

 

Trained by Brendan Walsh and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Loved ran 1 1/8 miles over a “muddy” track in 1:50.17 to collect her first graded stakes win. In July, the 5-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro won the ungraded $100,000 Mari Hulman George Memorial Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

 

“Brendan and his team really had her ready to go today,” Gaffalione said. “She’s been a nice filly throughout her career and put things together today to get a graded stakes win.”

 

A late bloomer, Loved showed plenty of promise during her 4-year-old season with three consecutive victories by a combined 28 lengths in the first half of 2023: a maiden win and triumphs in first and second level allowance conditions. She finished fourth as the second betting choice in her stakes debut, the $500,000 Molly Pitcher (GIII) at Monmouth Park in July of 2023 – her final start of the year.

 

The Falls City was Loved’s fifth start this season.

 

“We were pretty confident with her coming into this race,” Walsh said. “She’s been training at Turfway and within the last three weeks really started to put things together. She was training and moving great in the mornings. We’re glad she was able to do that when it mattered today and become a graded stakes winner.”

 

Breaking from post No. 6 in the field of eight fillies and mares, Loved raced between horses in fifth down the backstretch as Enclosure had an uncontested lead with quarter-mile splits of :23.60, :47.41 and 1:11.76. Loved moved into third nearing the final turn and was full of run. Musical Mischief, the winner of September’s $400,000 Locust Grove (GII), and Loved caught Enclosure midway around the turn and then Loved dashed past Musical Mischief at the top of the stretch with a three-wide move. She took charge with a three-length lead in the stretch as three-time Grade II-winning 3-year-old filly Tarifa chased to run a good second in her debut against elders.

 

“She ran a good race,” said Brad Cox, trainer of Tarifa. “She sat a good trip but give credit to the winner who ran a big race and Godolphin who owned the top two finishers.”

 

Loved paid $10.64, $4.78 and $3.12 as the 4-1 third betting choice. Tarifa, ridden by Flavien Prat, returned $3.46 and $3.12. It was another three lengths back in third to 25-1 longshot Lexa, who paid $7.04 to show under Gerardo Corrales.

 

Neon Icon, Enclosure, 9-5 second choice Musical Mischief, Peignoir and Quarto Y Vinte (URU) completed the order of finish.

 

With the Falls City win, Loved improved her overall record to five wins in 10 starts. Thursday’s $240,455 first prize jumped her earnings to $585,955.

 

Loved was bred in Kentucky by her owner. She is out of the Bernardini mare Velvety.

 

Racing at Churchill Downs continues Friday with the popular day-after Thanksgiving card highlighted by the 150th running of the $600,000 Clark presented by Norton Healthcare (GII) for older horses. The Clark goes as Race 11 of 12 at approximately 5:58 p.m. (all times Eastern). The first race is 1 p.m.

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DUVET (IRE) RALLIES TO WIN GRADE III, $265,000 CARDINAL

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024) – Duvet Day (IRE), who raced in turf marathons in her previous 13 starts, relished a cutback in distance and used an explosive late kick in deep stretch to rally from the back and defeat 9-5 favorite She’s Lookin Lucky by three-quarters of a length in Thursday’s 49th running of the $265,000 Cardinal (Grade III) on Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs.

 

Duvet Day (IRE), a 5-year-old mare owned by Jane Bacharach, William DeBurgh and Richard Schatz, ran 1 1/8 miles over “firm” turf in 1:48.79 to collect the first graded stakes win of her career. Early in her 4-year-old season, Duvet Day (IRE) won the $100,000 Astra (Listed) at Santa Anita over 1 ½ miles on grass.

 

Flavien Prat, the leading U.S. jockey, rode the winner for trainer Michael McCarthy. It was Prat’s 78th stakes win of 2024 (one shy of Irad Ortiz Jr.’s record of 79 in 2022) and 53rd graded stakes triumph (two back of Jerry Bailey’s 2023 record of 55).

 

Breaking from post position No. 3 in the field of 10 fillies and mares, Duvet Day (IRE) raced in ninth down the backstretch as Dreaming of Mo led the way with splits of :23.78, :48 and 1:12. Leaving the final turn, She’s Lookin Lucky drew even with Dreaming of Mo while Duvet Day (IRE) still had one horse beat. Still in ninth with a little more than furlong to run, Prat tipped Duvet Day (IRE) out to the five path and the mare displayed a powerful late kick to collar She’s Lookin Lucky in the final yards.

 

“My plan was to be a little bit closer to the pace and not so far out of it,” Prat said. “But, after we broke, we ended up being towards the back of the field. I got her to relax and when I tipped her outside she really found her best run.”

 

The triumph was worth $147,250 and increased her earnings to $420,538. Duvet Day (IRE) boasts a record of 4-5-4 in 24 starts.

 

Duvet Day (IRE) returned mutuels of $23, $8.94 and $5.54 as the 10-1 sixth betting choice. She’s Lookin Lucky, ridden by Florent Geroux, returned $3.84 and $3.20. Third-place finisher Queen Regent (GB), under Frankie Dettori, was another three-quarters of a length back and paid $4.44 to show at odds of 6-1.

 

The order of finish was completed by Stir Crazy, Dreaming of Mo, Quality Star, Harvey’s Princess, Adrasteia, Implicated and Magical Lute. Heart Spin was scratched.

 

Prior to the Cardinal, Duvet Day (IRE) finished seventh of 11 in the $296,738 Dowager (GIII) at Keeneland over 1 ½ miles on turf on Oct. 20.

 

“She’s been a very nice mare and has some run top efforts in races much further than today,” said Justin Curran, McCarthy’s Kentucky assistant trainer. “We knew she’d come with her run and really closed strongly down the center of the turf.”

 

Duvet Day (IRE), a daughter of Starspangledbanner (AUS) out of the Montjeu (IRE) mare Je T’Adore, was bred in Ireland by John Yarr.

 

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FALLS CITY QUOTES

 

Tyler Gaffalione (jockey, Loved, winner): “Brendan (Walsh) and his team really had her ready to go today. She’s been a nice filly throughout her career and put things together today to get a graded stakes win.”

 

Brendan Walsh (trainer, Loved, winner): “We were pretty confident with her coming into this race. She’s been training at Turfway and within the last three weeks really started to put things together. She was training and moving great in the mornings. We’re glad she was able to do that when it mattered today and become a graded stakes winner.”

 

Brad Cox (trainer, Tarifa, runner-up): “She ran a good race. She sat a good trip but give credit to the winner who ran a big race and Godolphin who owned the top two finishers.”

 

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CARDINAL QUOTES

 

Flavien Prat (jockey, Duvet Day, winner): “My plan was to be a little bit closer to the pace and not so far out of it. But, after we broke, we ended up being towards the back of the field. I got her to relax and when I tipped her outside she really found her best run.”

 

Justin Curran (assistant trainer, Duvet Day, winner): “She’s been a very nice mare and has some run top efforts in races much further than today. We knew she’d come with her run and really closed strongly down the center of the turf.”

 

Florent Geroux (jockey, She’s Lookin Lucky, runner-up): “I just let (Dreaming of Mo) go on the lead and let my filly track her in second. She was travelling very easily on her own and tried very hard but was second best today.”