Miller avoids serious injury in paddock incident

ARCADIA, Calif. - Watching Tristan’s Trilogy finish fourth in a maiden race on turf at Santa Anita on Saturday was a painful experience for trainer Peter Miller.

Minutes before the race, Tristan’s Trilogy stepped on one of Miller’s feet in the saddling area. Miller was attending to Tristan’s Trilogy’s feet when the colt became fractious and lunged forward, landing on Miller’s foot.

Miller was briefly hospitalized on Saturday afternoon after undergoing X-rays. He was diagnosed with a broken big toe and released early that evening.

“It could have been bad,” Miller said. “I thought the foot was broken. It was just the toe.”

Sunday morning, Miller was trying to put the incident behind him and was focusing on his next major objective - Saturday’s California Cup stakes for statebreds at Santa Anita. Miller will have runners in three of the five stakes.

In the $250,000 Cal Cup Turf Classic at 1 1/8 miles, Miller will start Poshsky, a 6-year-old gelding who won the Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap at Golden Gate Fields on Nov. 29. The race is led by the eight-time stakes winner Alert Bay, who won the 2015 Cal Cup Turf Classic.

In the $200,000 Cal Cup Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on turf, Miller will run Hurricaine Callie and Run Like the Boss. Hurricaine Callie beat maidens at Los Alamitos in December. Run Like the Boss beat maidens here last May and was third in an optional claimer at Del Mar in November.

The Oaks is led by Pacific Heat, who won the Golden State Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar in October but was eighth as the 2-1 favorite in the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos on Dec. 12. She emerged from that race with a breathing issue that has been treated, trainer Peter Eurton said.

In the $150,000 Cal Cup Sprint at six furlongs, Miller will run Richard’s Boy and Solid Wager. Richard’s Boy has won two stakes, but was eighth in the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes on the hillside turf course on Dec. 26. Solid Wager won the Cary Grant Stakes for California-breds at Del Mar in November, but was last of five in an optional claimer at a mile on Jan. 8.

The favorite for the Cal Cup Sprint will be San Onofre, the winner of the Grade 3 Midnight Lute Stakes here on Jan. 2.

Miller does not have runners in the $250,000 Cal Cup Derby or the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint on the hillside turf course.

The Cal Cup Derby at 1 1/16 miles may be the 2016 debut of Smokey Image, who was unbeaten in five starts in 2015, including four stakes. Last year, Smokey Image was trained by Greg James in Northern California, but the colt was transferred to trainer Carla Gaines at Santa Anita in the fall by owners and breeders Robert and Betty Irvin.

Gaines stopped short of committing Smokey Image to the race over the weekend, wanting to discuss options with the Irvins.

The largest field of the day may be the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint on the hillside turf course. Sunday Rules, the likely favorite, missed the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes on Saturday because of an inflamed hock, which has since subsided, trainer Phil D’Amato said.