Peter Miller © Eclipse Sportswire

DAY 8

MILLER STIRS UP SOME GOOD MEMORIES WITH STORMY LIBERAL, ROY H

Trainer Peter Miller ranks a Saturday at Del Mar, November 4, 2017, as probably the third-best day of his life.

Considering his marriage to his wife Lani and the birth of their two sons are in a dead heat for the No. 1 spot, the climactic day of Del Mar’s first time as a Breeders’ Cup venue is about as high as it could be on Miller’s current ratings list.

Miller went into it without a Breeders’ Cup win but, in a matter of about two hours, saddled Stormy Liberal ($62.40) and Richard’s Boy to a 1-2 finish in the $1 million Turf Sprint and Roy H ($11.80) to victory in the $1.5 million Sprint.

In the fourth race on the Wednesday card here, Stormy Liberal won for the first time in four starts since the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Saturday, Roy H, who opened 2018 with a victory in the Palos Verdes at Santa Anita on February 3, makes his first start since making the long trip to Dubai and a third-place finish in the $2 million Golden Shaheen sprint on Dubai World Cup day. Roy H is the 2-1 Crosby favorite against nine rivals in a race that is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Twinspires Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Churchill Downs.

Déjà vu anyone?

“Maybe a little,” Miller said Friday morning. “Hopefully that (Stormy Liberal win was a good omen for Saturday. Del Mar has always been a very special place for me. I’ve been coming here since I was eight years old with my dad, and there’s no place in the world like it to me.

“It’s the first step on the road back to the Breeders’ Cup for Roy H. So this isn’t the end-all, be-all. But I think I’ve got him about 90 percent cranked and hopefully that’s enough.”

Roy H, a 6-year-old son of More Than Ready, was off a beat slow in the Golden Shaheen and finished three-quarters of a length behind Mind Your Biscuits, who edged X Y Jet for the win.

“He didn’t get beat very far and I think with a little better break and clean trip he would have won. But that’s horse racing,” Miller said. “It’s a long way to fly for bad luck, but that’s the name of the game.”

The long-term effects of the round trip to the Middle East are always a concern for a horse making his comeback start in the U.S. But Miller sees no signs of regression with Roy H, who has earnings of more than $1.7 million off seven wins in 19 starts.

“He’s acting and training like his old self, his weight and his coat are good,” Miller said. “He’s happy, and if he’s happy, I’m happy.”

Roy H was an unlucky second to Ransom the Moon in the 2017 Crosby. Ransom the Moon is back to defend his title but is 6-1 on the morning line.

“It’s always a tough race, and (Roy H) is going to have to run well to win,” Miller said. “I wouldn’t trade places with anybody, that’s for sure.”

The field from the rail: Annie’s Candy (Evin Roman, 30-1), American Pastime (Corey Nakatani, 15-1), Roy H (Kent Desormeaux, 2-1), American Anthem (Mike Smith, 5-2), Ransom the Moon (Flavien Prat, 5-2), Tribal Storm (Irving Orozco, 30-1), Stone Hands (Mario  Gutierrez, 30-1), St. Joe Bay (Tyler Baze, 8-1), Edwards Going Left (Drayden Van Dyke, 10-1), Touching Rainbows (Gary Stevens, 10-1) and Stallwalkin’ Dude (Martin Pedroza, 15-1).

UNIQUE BELLA 2-5 ON MORNING LINE FOR SUNDAY’S CLEMENT L. HIRSCH

Multiple Grade I winning Unique Bella drew the No. 2 post position and was established as the 2-5 favorite on Russ Hudak’s morning line for Sunday’s $300,000 Grade I Clement L. Hirsch Stakes.

The 4-year-old gray daughter of  Tapit,  owned by Don Alberto Stable and trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, with eight wins and two seconds in 11 career starts for  earnings of nearly $1.1 million, is the high weight at 123 pounds, four more than all of her five rivals. Mike Smith, aboard for all of the Eclipse Award winner’s starts, will be in the irons.

Trainer John Sadler, who pulled off the biggest stakes  upset of the meeting with Catapult ($44.00) in Sunday’s Eddie Read, entered Shenandoah Queen (10-1) and Yuvetsi  (8-1) in the event won in the past by female stars  Azeri, Zenyatta, Beholder and Sadler’s own Stellar Wind the last two years.

Sadler’s assessment: “It’s Unique Bella and everybody else. I don’t know if we can beat Unique Bella but Yuvetsi  won a stakes last out, so we’ll give it  a try and hopefully get a good check.” Shenandoah Queen was a $3,000 supplemental entry.

The field from the rail: Bernina Star (Kent Desormeaux, 10-1), Unique Bella (Mike Smith, 2-5), La Force (Drayden Van Dyke, 5-1), Turkish Tabby (Mario Gutierrez, 20-1), Shenandoah Queen (Joe Talamo, 10-1) and Yuvetsi (Tyler Baze, 8-1).

The Clement L. Hirsch is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the $2 million Longines Distaff in November at Churchill Downs.

JOCKEY NEWS: A. ESPINOZA CLARIFICATION; PRAT OUT OF TOWN

Call him Assael.

That’s the given name for the apprentice jockey nephew of Hall of Fame rider Victor Espinoza. Young (18) Espinoza has heretofore been identified  as “Asa” in the daily programs on the Southern California circuit and has tolerated it being pronounced ACE-uh or AH-suh without complaint.

Starting Saturday here, where he is scheduled for seven mounts on a 10-race card, the program will show “Assael Espinoza.” It’s pronounced AH-see-el.

Agent Brian Beach explained that the shortened version was intended to make a simple first impression for the rider starting his professional career. With 43 career wins, a riding co-championship with fellow apprentice Heriberto Figueroa at Los Alamitos, and the No. 3 spot in the current Del Mar standings with five wins in seven days, Espinoza has made a name for himself.

In other news concerning jockeys, defending riding champion Flavien Prat will be at Monmouth Parkon Sunday to ride Core Beliefs for Peter Eurton in the $1 million Haskell Invitational.

Good Magic, winner of the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile here, is the 6-5 favorite with Bravazo second at 3-1 and Core Beliefs 4-1. Core Beliefs finished third behind Justify and Bolt d’Oro in the Santa Anita Derby, second in the Peter Pan at Belmont Park and won the Ohio Derby at Thistledown on June 23.

“I like the draw (post No. 4 of 7), like the way he’s been training and the way he’s coming into the race,” Eurton said here Friday morning.

Prat will be travelling again next weekend to ride Once On Whiskey, the Los Alamitos Derby winner, for trainer Bob Baffert in the West Virginia Derby.

“I kind of hate to do it, because you can lose out on business here,” said Derek Lawson, Prat’s agent. “But the flip side is that these are opportunities you can’t really afford to pass up.”

MAINARDI, KINCHEN GUEST EXPERTS FOR  HANDICAPPING SEMINARS

Joe Mainardi of ponypicker.com and National Handicapping Champion Jonathon Kinchen will provide the expert selections on Saturday and Sunday, respectively at the weekend handicapping seminars.

Mainardi is the owner of Unique Solutions Software (USS), the business from which his business Hor$ense was developed. Kinchen will be the guest of Frank Scatoni on Sunday.

The seminars are held from 12:45-1:30 p.m. and are held at the Seaside Terrace near the head of the stretch.

STARS ARE OUT FOR DONUTS DAY SATURDAY

The popular “Donuts Day” presentation on Saturday, which provides free coffee and donuts to patrons from 8-10 a.m., will have an abundance of racetrack talent participating in the question and answer session conducted by announcer Trevor Denman.

Guest panelists scheduled to be on hand are steward Grant Baker, jockey agent Carolyn Conley and Hall of Fame jockeys Mike Smith and Gary Stevens.

Smith will also be available for an autograph session from 12-1 p.m. at the Plaza de Mexico behind the grandstand.

CLOSERS – Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza was scheduled to be moved from Scripps La Jolla Hospital on Friday to a nearby rehabilitation facility where the emphasis will be on regaining strength and feeling  in his upper body, agent Brian Beach said… Defending Pacific Classic champion Collected was on the track Friday morning, having arrived from a training center in Kentucky … Selected works from 167 timed Friday morning: Beau Recall (4f, :50.20), Dalmore (4f, :46.80), City of Light (5f, :59.40), Just a Smidge (5f, 1:02.00) and Pavel (6f, 1:12.60).

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Thursday, July 26, 2018 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Thursday, July 26, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Thursday, July 26, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 26 out of 61 -- 42.62%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 21 out of 39 -- 53.85%

Winning favorites on turf -- 5 out of 22 -- 22.73%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 6 out of 9 -- 66.67%

In-the-Money favorites -- 40 out of 61 -- 65.57%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 9 out of 9 -- 100.00%