Peter Miller © Benoit Photo
PETER MILLER RETURNS TO DEFEND HIS TRAINING TITLE AT DEL MAR
Peter Miller is back at Del Mar, back doing what he loves best and back to defend his training title at the Del Mar summer meet.
Last November, Peter Miller decided he needed a freshening. So he took a break from training horses and handed over the reins of his stable to his longtime assistant, Ruben Alvarado. Miller’s two sons were getting to the age where they were involved in sports and he didn’t want to miss out.
“It was great; I traveled a lot, took a lot of trips with my family, did things that I’ve never done before,” he said.
At 55-years old, he admits he was burned-out on the horse business. ”I missed the horses but all the other nonsense, I didn’t miss at all.”
In April, Miller announced he would resume his role as trainer and defend his training title at Del Mar this summer. The CHRB prolonged his ‘hiatus’ with a seven- day suspension, saying Miller didn’t completely take his hands off of his racing operation while he was gone…as state guidelines require. His time spent out at his barn at San Luis Rey Downs was too “involved” in the state’s opinion.
But all of that is behind him now. “I’m fresh and ready to go,” he notes. “I’m glad to be back at Del Mar. This is home.”
Actually, home for Miller is in Encinitas, a seaside community that’s a quick 10- minute drive north of the track on the I-5. He’s bringing 50 horses to Del Mar this summer with another string out at San Luis Rey.
“We gear-up for this meet,” he says. “This is my goal for the year, to have a good Del Mar. All of my friends and family are around because this is the premier meet in Southern California, here at Del Mar.”
Last summer, Miller led the way with 26-wins out of 144-starts, an 18% win percentage. He bested runner-up John Sadler in the trainer standings by eight victories and earned his connections $1,888,594 in earnings. It was the second year in a row taking home the summer meet training title at Del Mar and his fifth summer meet title, ninth overall at Del Mar.
Six of those victories were stakes wins, giving him 44 total, lifting him from 12th to 8th place on Del Mar’s all-time list of stakes victories amongst trainers.
What does Miller credit for his success at Del Mar?
“A little bit of home cooking, a little home field advantage. We work a little bit harder, there’s a little extra spring to our step during Del Mar.”
Miller has at least two horses entered in stakes races during the first weekend. Slam Dunk Racing’s Tezzaray will go in the G2 San Clemente on Saturday. The 3-year old filly by Bated Breath won both of her races at Del Mar last year, breaking her maiden followed by a victory in the G3 Jimmy Durante, both going a mile on the turf.
Miller also has entered Indian Peak in the $100,000 Wickerr Stakes on Sunday. The 5-year old gelding by Comic Strip was runner-up in both the G3 San Simeon and the $100,000 Sensational Star at Santa Anita earlier in the year.
NEW DATE FOR THE MILLION DOLLAR G1 TVG PACIFIC CLASSIC
This year’s $1 million TVG Pacific Classic has been moved back two weeks to the Labor Day weekend on September 3rd. Like much of the stakes schedule, the date of the Classic, which will be run for the 32nd time this year, had to be changed to accommodate the late start to the meet, which kicks off a week later than usual on July 22nd.
Racing Secretary David Jerkens says having the entire meet go a week beyond Labor Day, to September 11th, caused them to look at the schedule differently.
“The Pacific Classic,” he said, “we could have left it where it was last year (August 21st in 2021), but now your prep races, like the San Diego, are a little quick. So we thought, Labor Day weekend would be the way to go.“
It’s not the first time the date has been changed for Del Mar’s premiere event. The Grade I Classic has been run as early as August 9th and as late as August 30th. It was even run on a Sunday for many years. But never Labor Day weekend. Jerkens says that was the logical spot.
“If you run it the week we ran it last year, that third week of August, with your meet going until September 11th, it’s kind of in the middle of the meet more than at the end, where it typically is,” he noted. “The following week is the Travers and we try to avoid that Saturday.”
Another benefit of running the TVG Pacific Classic -- a ‘Win and You’re In’ race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic –in its current spot is that it aligns perfectly with the Breeders’ Cup Classic almost exactly two months later. A trainer can run in the TVG Pacific Classic on September 3rd and have the desired four weeks to run in another prep race, like the Awesome Again at Santa Anita, and still have an additional four weeks to get ready for the big race.
This year’s TVG Pacific Classic is expected to attract racing’s hottest item, the undefeated Flightline, fresh off a dominating win in the G1 Met Mile at Belmont Park in June. The son of Tapit is stabled in John Sadler’s barn here at Del Mar.
A FULL FIELD LINES-UP FOR FIRST STAKE OF THE DEL MAR SUMMER MEET
A full field of 14 is possible for Friday’s traditional Opening Day feature, the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds run at a mile on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.
Balnikhov is expected to be one of the favorites when they open the gates. Owned in partnership by Little Red Feather Racing, Madakat Stables and Old Bones Stable’s, the Irish-bred gelding has yet to post up in the winner’s circle since coming to the states early this year, but he’s come close. The son of Adaay, out of the First Defense mare, Leeward, missed by a nose to Sumter in the $100,000 Singletary Stakes at Santa Anita in his first U-S start in April. He followed that performance with another runner-up finish, this time to Stolen Base in the G2 American Turf on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs.
Presumably primed for a big win, trainer Phil D’Amato brought Balnikhov back to Southern California and ran him in the $100,000 Cinema Stakes at Santa Anita where he finished fourth in a five-horse field as a heavy 3-5 favorite. The Cinema was a mile and an eighth so Balnikhov will be shortening-up for the Oceanside and running the same distance as his near miss in the Singletary.
“I just ran him back too quick off the ship and the equipment change (blinkers on) I don’t think helped, it just made him too keen,” said D’Amato.
D’Amato says the blinkers will come back off for the Oceanside. Balnikhov has worked four times since his disappointing run in the Cinema, one of which was a bullet five-furlong work in 59.80 on July 1st. It was the best of nine other runners at the distance at Santa Anita that day.
Balnikhov came to America having won 3-of-his last-4. One of those victories came at the famed Chantilly racecourse in France. He’ll have a new rider in the Oceanside. Umberto Rispoli will climb aboard the gelding for the first time Friday.
COOLING OUT --- Training on the Jimmy Durante turf course will resume Sunday then continue every Thursday and Sunday throughout the meet. Trainers must email requests to Racing Secretary David Jerkens the day before turf works and stakes horses will have preference in the event that there is an overflow of requests. Turf works begin at 9:40 and conclude at 10:05…Selected works on Tuesday: Dirt – Flashiest, last year’s Oceanside winner (4f, 48.60); Sumter (6f, 1:11.40); Royal Ship (6f, 1:11); Soothsay (5f, 58.60)…Selected work from Wednesday: Tizamagician (5f, 1:00.60.