Trainer Peter Miller Scores 1,000th Victory

It was appropriate trainer Peter Miller reached the 1,000-win milestone in a turf sprint Nov. 16 at Del Mar.

Although he has been successful in all kinds of divisions, in recent years the 52-year-old trainer has excelled in grass sprints, not only on a daily basis at Santa Anita Park and Del Mar, but at the highest level on the planet.

So when Rockingham Ranch's 2-year-old Haydens Havoc sped to victory to break his maiden by 1 1/2 lengths Friday in a five-furlong turf dash, it fit. Just more than a year ago, Miller trainees Stormy Liberal and Richard's Boy (both also owned in part by Rockingham) ran 1-2 at the same distance in the 2017 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T), and Stormy Liberal repeated to win the race in 2018 at Churchill Downs.

"There was definitely relief," Miller said in an interview on TVG Friday after the victory for the Jimmy Creed  colt under jockey Drayden Van Dyke. "I wanted to get it over with and didn't want it to linger for a week or two. Just glad we could get it and I'm very thankful.

"It's very special (to reach the milestone at Del Mar). This is our home track. We live in Encinitas, so to win it here, with my family here, is very special. I want to thank (Rockingham owner) Gary Hartunian and Gary Barber, because the majority of the thousand are owned by those two guys. I couldn't do it without them."

Miller began training on his own in 1987, has had some gaps during his run, and didn't have more than 52 starters in a year until 2006, but has been among the top trainers in Southern California for at least the last handful of seasons. He had career highs for wins (124) and earnings (more than $7.3 million) in 2017, but has already surpassed his earnings mark this year (he's approaching $8 million) and should surpass his win mark as well (he has 116 victories in 2018).

"This is definitely a high more reflective on 30 some years of hard work," Miller said in the TVG interview. "My staff, my team, my owners, my wife—without them I couldn't have done it.

"I love a lot of things (about the game). I love the horses No. 1, and I love the competition. Between the horses and the competition, that's what gets me up early every day."