Peter Miller
NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR REPEATING BREEDERS’ CUP STAR MILLER
Was it only six days ago that Peter Miller became repeater Miller by saddling Stormy Liberal and Roy H to Breeders’ Cup wins in the Turf Sprint and Sprint – the same two horses in the same two races he’d taken a year earlier when the event was held here?
Yes, it was.
And now Miller, appreciative of but unfazed by his Breeders’ Cup success, has the opportunity to decompress at his nearby Encinitas home and supervise the training of the roughly 70 horses he has stabled here through a Del Mar fall racing session in which he has been a towering figure since its inception in 2014.
The 16-day meeting, which begins today, will be conducted on a four-day-a-week basis through December 2.
“You can’t anticipate winning two Breeders’ Cup races, ever,” Miller said earlier this week on the observation stand overlooking the backstretch of the track. “They’re just too tough. They’re too loaded with good horses.
“I felt we’d win one with Roy H, but I didn’t know with the three turf horses I entered how they’d handle the soft grass (at Churchill Downs). Richard’s Boy (13th) and Conquest Tsunami (11th) didn’t handle it at all. But Stormy is just a beast and he’ll run on anything. It doesn’t matter to him, just put a horse in front of him and he’ll go get it.”
There was celebration in the immediate aftermath, Miller said. But it was back to routine in a matter of hours.
“Nothing really changes,” Miller said. “The life of a horse trainer is pretty consistent. You go to bed early, wake up and go to work. You have the same problems you did when you went away and some new ones.
“Obviously, it’s a great feeling and a great accomplishment for satisfaction. But other than that, not a whole lot changes. People think you’d have a lot of people calling you with horses for you to train, but that doesn’t happen. All my business is word of mouth, people that come recommended by people I know well.”
Celebrity? Not exactly.
“You do get recognized a little more at airports and other places because you’ve been on television. But that’s not a big deal to me.”
He’s content that a meeting in which he dominated since its inception is starting. Miller won the inaugural fall title in 2014 and ran away by eight and 10-win margins the last two years. He tied for second in 2015, coming up two wins short of Doug O’Neill.
“I love this meet,” Miller said. “It’s hard to say, but I almost like it more than the summer meet. It’s got a great feel, a great vibe. Not as crowded, not as much stress and pressure as the summer. The days are not as long. You get done at a more decent hour.
“I love this meet and I think it has been a real addition to the calendar for Southern California racing. A much needed addition to the calendar.”
Miller needs four victories to reach the 1,000-win mark in a 31-year training career. Considering that he has averaged 15.75 wins per fall season, it’s a safe bet he’ll do it here and soon.
“That will be great, this is home,” Miller said.
He is not, however, expecting to leave the other trainers in the dust on a title run like he did last summer and the past two fall sessions.
“We’ve run hard all year and I don’t think we’re going to be as busy as we have been the last couple fall meets here,” Miller said. “But I’m happy with what we’ve got. I think we’ve got some very live horses and I think we’ll win some races.”
VAN DYKE, PRAT RIDING RIVALRY READY TO RECOMMENCE
The battle at the top of the jockey standings during the summer meeting between Drayden Van Dyke, 24, and Flavien Prat, 26, ended with Van Dyke claiming his first Del Mar title, 42 wins to 37.
The ascending stars in the jockey colony renew the rivalry starting today and in terms of number of mounts over the first three days the playing field is almost level. Van Dyke and Prat are each scheduled aboard four mounts Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, Van Dyke is booked on six and Prat on five.
If it goes down to the wire like it did in the summer, Prat could be facing a dilemma.
Prat and his wife, Manon, are expecting their first child with a due date of November 23, the Friday on which the Grade II $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup starts a three-day stretch in which five of the nine graded stakes in the meeting will be contested.
To ride or be at your bride’s bedside? For Prat, that could be the question.
JUST GRAZED ME FAVORED IN SUNDAY’S BETTY GRABLE
Just Grazed Me drew the No. 3 post and was established as the 5-2 favorite on Russ Hudak’s morning line for Sunday’s $100,000 Betty Grable Stakes at seven furlongs for California-bred older fillies and mares
A 3-year-old daughter of Grazen owned by Nick Alexander and trained by Phil D’Amato, Just Grazed won the Fleet Treat Stakes on July 29 in her second career start and Del Mar debut, then was second, beaten 3 ½ lengths by True Royalty in the Torrey Pines Stakes on August 26. Alexander also owns the 5-1 co-third choice S Y Sky.
Among the contenders in the field of nine is One Fast Broad, owned by Ruis Racing LLC of Mick and Wendy Ruis and trained by Mick Ruis Sr.
“We think we’ve got her back to the place where she was the 2-year-old California-bred filly champion,” Ruis said of the 3-year-old daughter of Decarchy. One Fast Broad’s lone win of 2018 in seven starts was here on August 11 in a one-mile turf race. She switches back to dirt, where she is 3-for-6 lifetime and has accumulated $247,000 of her $389,788 career earnings.
Earlier this week the Ruis’ Bolt d’Oro, winner of the 2017 Del Mar Futurity, was retired to stand stud at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky.
“It’s exciting and sad at the same time,” Ruis said. “He took us on a great ride that we kind of hated to see end. But at the same time, we’re excited about the next career ahead for him.”
The Betty Grable field from the rail: Mo See Cal (Martin Pedroza, 12-1), Love a Honeybadger (Tiago Pereira, 5-1), Just Grazed Me (Tyler Baze, 5-2), Spiced Perfection (Flavien Prat, 3-1), Show It N Moe It (Rafael Bejarano, 8-1), Meet and Greet (Drayden Van Dyke, 12-1), One Fast Broad (Ruben Fuentes, 8-1), S Y Sky (Joe Talamo, 5-1) and Gorgeous Ginny (Geovanni Franco, 15-1).
CHASING YESTERDAY TOPS QUINTET FOR MONDAY’S DESI ARNAZ
Chasing Yesterday, a half-sister to Triple Crown Champion American Pharoah,, tops an anticipated short field of five in the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, a seven-furlong test for 2-year-old fillies, the feature on a special Veterans Day program Monday.
A daughter of Tapit-Littleprincessemma, Chasing Yesterday is owned by Summer Wind Equine and trained by Bob Baffert. After Chasing Yesterday produced an impressive debut victory here on July 28, Baffert sent her to Saratoga for the Grade I Spinaway on September 1. The move backfired when she finished seventh of 11 as the 17-10 favorite.
Returned to California, Chasing Yesterday regained her winning form in the Anoakia Stakes on October 14 at Santa Anita, prevailing by a half-length over It’justanillusion in the six furlong sprint.
CHEW, LINDO ARE EXPERTS ON WEEKEND HANDICAPPING SEMINARS
Trainer Matthew Chew and owner/handicapper Jon Lindo will be at the head table for the opening weekend seminars.
Chew will offer insights on the Saturday program while Lindo will be Frank Scatoni’s guest on Sunday.
The seminars are presented from 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. at the Seaside Terrace near the head of the stretch.
CLOSERS – Renowned basketball coach and horse owner Rick Pitino was in San Diego on Thursday to observe and provide input on the San Diego State team’s practice. Pitino also told the Union-Tribune’s Mark Ziegler that he would be coming to Del Mar for the races this weekend. Over the past several years, Pitino has owned, generally in partnerships, horses under the stable names of Ol’ Memorial and Celtic Pride with Doug O’Neill as his principal California trainer.