Roy H dominates Palos Verdes Stakes
ARCADIA, Calif. – The clock said 4:13 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita, but it sure looked earlier, because the way Roy H romped in the Grade 2, $200,351 Palos Verdes Stakes he appeared to be out for a morning breeze.
There was no doubt about his dominance in this race. Roy H ($2.60) sat just off the two early leaders, inhaled them on the turn without being asked for his best, and cruised home with jockey Paco Lopez barely moving a muscle.
At age 7, he appears to be getting better and better. This was the third straight win for Roy H, his success in recent months an exact mirror of what he did at the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017. For the second consecutive year, his Palos Verdes win followed Grade 1 victories in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship and Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
He’s expected to make another match on Thursday. Roy H is heavily favored to win the Eclipse Award as champion male sprinter for the second straight year.
“He’s just a machine,” said Peter Miller, who trains Roy H for Gary Hartunian’s Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen. “He’s a pro’s pro. He’s the LeBron James of sprinters.”
On a track rated good and that played a bit dull during the card, Roy H covered six furlongs in 1:08.89, which should produce another strong Beyer Speed Figure, following up the 105 and 111 he received in his two prior starts.
“The track’s playing dead and he goes 8 and 4” – 1:08 and 4/5ths - “just cruising,” Miller said.
He won by four lengths over Kanthaka, who closed to finish second, 1 1/2 lengths in front of third-place Conquest Tsunami. Awesome Anywhere, St. Joe Bay, and Touched by Autism completed the finish in that order. Distinctive B – who has the same owner and trainer as Roy H - was scratched earlier in the day.
Roy H, who started from the outside post, sat just behind and outside of Conquest Tsunami and St. Joe Bay through the opening quarter in 21.44 seconds.
“Watching the race, I wasn’t too happy with Paco," Miller said. "I like when he’s sitting two, three, or four back. I thought he was too close. But he knows better.”
Lopez has been aboard Roy H for his last three starts. He picked up the mount anew after Roy H finished second in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar in July.
The Bing Crosby was Roy H’s first race following a trip to Dubai. He finished a close third after a poor start in last year’s Golden Shaheen, and a return visit to that race is what’s planned next for Roy H two months hence.
“We’ll try Dubai again and hopefully we get it right this time,” Miller said.
They’ve gotten a lot right with Roy H. Most significant was the decision in July 2016 to geld him. He was 1 for 10 at the time. He is 9 for 13 since.
Roy H, by More Than Ready, has now won 10 times in 23 starts, and the $120,000 he picked up Saturday increased his bankroll to $3,139,765.
