Roy H Cruises to Palos Verdes Victory

A jaunt, a stroll, a breeze—call it what you may. Roy H's 2018 debut was as easy as it gets.

Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen's champion male sprinter of 2017 got the benefit of a short field and a three-way contest for the lead in front of him early in the $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park Feb. 3, but breezed by his rivals. He hit the front in the turn and cruised to the wire under jockey Kent Desormeaux to win by 3 1/2 lengths, geared down late.

"He did it very easy," Desormeaux said. "(Trainer Peter Miller) told me to let the other horses go today and let this guy finish up the last half-mile. It made my job easy. He's a super horse."

Last of four as Red Lightning, Americanize, and Mongolian Saturday duked it out for the lead through a first quarter in :22.06, the 6-year-old More Than Ready  gelding began to make his move as the field entered the turn in the six-furlong test, but was still under a tight hold by Desormeaux.

Mongolian Saturday was first to fade between the two other speedsters as a half-mile went in :45.15, but Americanize and Red Lightning didn't last much longer on the front. Roy H took command just after the quarter pole with a three-wide move and pulled away effortlessly in the stretch without any asking from his rider. The winning time was 1:09.68, with stakes winner Americanize outfinishing Red Lightning by 1 1/4 lengths for place honors.

"It was our first race of the year. We didn't want to change his (stalking) style—$200,000 is a big race, but it's not the biggest race we're going to run this year," said Miller of the 2017 TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner, who could end up in the March 31 Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) at Meydan Racecourse. "Kent did a great job of just letting him settle and moving around there at will."

The Palos Verdes was Roy H's third straight victory, following the Breeders' Cup Sprint and his first grade 1 score in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship in October. He earned his first graded score in the True North Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park in June. Bred in Kentucky by Ramona Bass out of the Elusive Quality mare Eluisve Diva, he was a $310,000 purchase by Rockingham from Wavertree Stables' consignment to the Keeneland April 2014 2-year-olds in training sale. He now has a 7-4-1 record from 18 starts and pushed his earnings to more than $1.4 million Saturday.

Miller said after the race that Roy H could run in the March 10 Triple Bend Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita as a final prep for the Golden Shaheen.

"That would probably be what we'd do, but one day at a time, one race at a time," Miller said. "The horse has been a model of consistency. I don't think I've ever had a horse put in seven top races in a row like he has, against top-quality horses. He's certainly the best sprinter I've ever trained."