Miller Regroups With Champions Roy H, Stormy Liberal

Last fall at Churchill Downs, trainer Peter Miller along with owners Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen pulled off a double-double when Roy H and Stormy Liberal became repeat winners in the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) and the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T), respectively, following their victories a year earlier at Del Mar. 

Six weeks away from the Breeders' Cup Nov. 1-2 at Santa Anita Park, a triple-triple for the champion duo seems a tall order. Having battled foot issues, Roy H is unraced since taking the Jan. 19 Palos Verdes Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita, and Stormy Liberal is winless in five starts this year.

Miller is not giving up hope, though he acknowledges the challenge presented to the pair, particularly two-time champion sprinter Roy H, who needs an uninterrupted training schedule to merely make the starting gate for the Sprint. He intends to breeze them Sept. 21 at his base at San Luis Rey Training Center in Bonsall, Calif., which for Roy H would mark his first workout since he was scratched with a foot abscess in his left front leg before the Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Gulf News (G1) in late March at Meydan.

"He has to breeze every six or seven days and not have any hiccups," Miller said of Roy H receiving the foundation necessary to be ready for the Sprint.

A 7-year-old More Than Ready  gelding, Roy H has won nine of 12 starts the past three seasons and 10 of 23 overall. His bankroll is in excess of $3.13 million.  

While Roy H needs a race to make the Breeders' Cup, Stormy Liberal needs a return to peak form to contend. Although he has been a factor in all five of his defeats in 2019, none of which he lost by more than three lengths, the determination that set him apart in winning his final four starts of 2018 has been missing. The first sprinter to win an Eclipse Award in the male turf horse division, he finished fifth last out in the Sept. 7 Runhappy Turf Sprint Stakes (G3T) over the undulating Kentucky Downs grass.

"He didn't care for that turf course. He was stumbling and bobbling all over it," Miller said.

Provided he works to Miller's satisfaction Saturday, he is likely to run at Santa Anita in the Sept. 27 Eddie D Stakes (G2T), a race he won last year. A 7-year-old gelding by Stormy Atlantic  out of the Royal Academy mare Vassar, he is a 12-time winner with earnings of more than $2.17 million.

"He's gotten a little smart in his old age, and he doesn't train quite as enthusiastically as he used to," Miller said. "I might just run him to keep him sharp."

Stormy Liberal is not the only stakes horse Miller plans to run on opening day at Santa Anita leading into the Breeders' Cup. He also has Nucky, upset winner of the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1), targeted for the $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes (G1) going 1 1/16 miles on the main track. The race is a prep for the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).

"I don't think that's a problem at all," he said of the distance. "He'll run all day—he acts like he will, at least."

Stablemate Wrecking Crew, the runner-up in the Del Mar Futurity, will not run in the American Pharoah, having been given a couple weeks of rest for treatment of ulcers. Miller has not ruled him out of the Juvenile.

Other potential Breeders' Cup players for his barn include graded stakes winners Belvoir Bay and Om, who will both train up to the Turf Sprint (G1T); Billy Batts, a candidate for the Juvenile Turf (G1T); and Spiced Perfection, a prospect for the Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

Spiced Perfection is being pointed toward the Oct. 5 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, where she won the Madison Stakes (G1) in the spring. She has not raced since a fourth-place finish in the Humana Distaff Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs on the May 4 Kentucky Derby (G1) undercard.