On a warm night in Dubai, March 1996, a slim, vivacious man in a delicately tailored light blue suit flew down the stairs of the Nad Al Sheba stand to the cheers of the crowd. around. At the foot of the stairs, waiting for him within walking distance, was a purebred dark brown dog, restless and sweating in the desert night. The horse called the Soul of Matter had just finished the race of his life, that’s why the man, its owner, cried with joy.
Never mind that Soul of the Matter finished second behind Cigar in the first run of the Dubai World Cup. Burt Bacharach, the man in the blue shirt, deeply loved and respected the equestrian he raised, named, and endured for two consecutive seasons with highs and lows. pain. And now this, at the pinnacle of the racing game – which he’s been in for a quarter of a century – is about to win the world’s greatest race in half-way, only to be beaten. defeated by the best horse in the world. Half the length.
Burt wasn’t cursing his luck or wondering what might have happened. At that time in his life, there were no famous composers on earth. His serious involvement in the Purebred world only added to the appeal of the man who considered his closest friends like Bill Shoemaker, his tennis partner, and Charlie Whittingham, his neighbor for many summers on the beach at Del Mar.
Bacharach once said, “Coming from an overrated, over-stated business like the music business or the show business — where everything is ‘smash, boffo, big hit’ — I It’s always refreshing to be around someone like Charlie,” Bacharach once said. “He was never too upset about success or grief.”
After a while, after knowing Burt for a few years, the magic subsided and I understood why the Purebred racing community offered the composer such a fun escape. His music is precise, populated by hidden melodies that elevate the collaborators’ wonderful lyrics. Bacharach’s songs are sung the way they were written, allowing for just enough vocal interpretation to invite artists such as Aretha Franklin, Marilyn McCoo, Karen Carpenter, Aaron Neville, Tom Jones, Luther Vandross, Wynonna Judd and Chrissie Hynde Follow Bacharach’s song. The musical path was first ventured by Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick.
Burt is a composer who can take a lyric from Hal David and turn it into a seven-beat invocation, going from “anyone who’s ever loved” to “anyone who’s ever dreamed” to “anyone once had a heart” and then, 30 years after it was written, enjoy its appreciation. by no less than Linda Ronstadt on a episode of The Tonight Show.
He’s athletic enough to stand grinning like a proud father while Neil Diamond, accompanied by a boombox, hums Bacharach’s hit song “Heartlight” during the walk at Belmont Park before his champion, Heartlight No. One, advance to win the Ruffian Stakes.
Burt Bacharach leads Heartlight No. One entered the winner round after the 1983 Ruffian Handicap at Belmont Park
And it was the eternal performer of Burt Bacharach who persuaded his friend Shoemaker to appear on the 1970s variety show “Hollywood Palace”, in which the champion jockey who would ride a war horse Bacharach won his first bet in 1971 – joking around with Burt and his wife, Angie Dickinson, before taking the stage to sing and dance.
My mother was born in the same year as Burt Bacharach, 1928, although he outlived him by two years. We listened to a lot of his music together, and then, in their 70s, she was backstage with Burt after a concert by the bay in San Diego. With my little intervention in his world, it’s no surprise that his death on February 8, at the age of 94, has left countless beautiful memories shared from around the world. . His global impact dwarfs the mark he has made in equestrianism. But no doubt, that mark is real and will last forever.
In January 2018, after the San Luis Rey Downs training center fire killed 46 horses and severely injured trainers Martine Bellocq and Joe Herrick, Bacharach and his wife, Jane, led a concert charity not far from Del Mar to help support the many stabilizing hands displaced by the tragedy. Latter-day Bacharach collaborator Elvis Costello was part of a program organized by family friend and animal activist Angelica Huston. It was a sell-off and made a lot of money.
The racing trophies are beautiful, lying there alongside Burt’s three Oscars and a bunch of his Grammys. But he doesn’t need the monument. Waves can be filled on any day with his talent harvesting. However, there is still a place where Burt Bacharach is worshiped daily, deep in the heart of the horse country.
The oldest resident at Old Friends Equine in Georgetown, Ky., is Afternoon Deelites, son of Private Clause, who brought Bacharach silk—light blue with a musical note on the back—to win Hollywood Futurity (G1) and Malibu Stakes (G1), finished second in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) and Santa Anita Derby (G1), and took his owner/breeder to the Kentucky Derby.
Michael Blowen, founder of Old Friends, said: ‘He’s 31 years old now and looks pretty good for his age. “He’s never really had a bad day – until this week. I told someone the day before that there was something wrong with the old man. I’m not really a believer in these things. something like that. But still…”
Nikki’s Garden at Old Friends
Burt and Jane Bacharach, as well as his ex-wife, Angie Dickinson, have been silent, staunch supporters of Old Friends for many years since it opened. They don’t ask for any special recognition or thanks. But then, after the 2007 death of Nikki Bacharach – Burt and Angie’s 40-year-old daughter – the family moved to create a special place among the horses in her memory.
So there you go, companion travelers. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, craving some peace and harmony, stop by Old Friends just off Paynes Depot Road and spend some time at Nikki’s Garden. Relax your shoulders and wander, and I bet a song will pop into your mind.
