Roy H finally gets elusive Breeders' Cup Sprint berth

ARCADIA, Calif. - Bad luck in the summer may be the only thing keeping Roy H from an impressive winning streak this year.

Roy H won his first Grade 1 race Saturday in the $300,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship at six furlongs, earning a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 4. From trainer Peter Miller’s perspective, the free berth to the BC Sprint should have been achieved in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar on July 29.

In that race at six furlongs, Roy H was carried wide on the turn by a riderless horse – 2016 sprint champion Drefong, no less – and finished 1 1/2 lengths behind Ransom the Moon.

In the Santa Anita Sprint Championship, Roy H had a trouble-free stalking trip and won by a length as the 9-10 favorite.

“This business is a rollercoaster,” Miller said.

Owned by Gary Hartunian and David Bernsen, Roy H has won four of his last five starts, a span that started in April when he returned from an eight-month layoff. In his four wins, Roy H stalked the pace and took the lead with a furlong remaining. Miller envisions the same style being effective in the BC Sprint.

“When he sits fourth or fifth and makes that big run, it’s exciting,” he said.

Ideally, Miller would like to have two runners in the BC Sprint. Calculator, second in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Aug. 26, has been sidelined by a foot abscess in recent weeks and is questionable for the BC Sprint.

“We’re running out of time,” Miller said. “He’s missed a couple of weeks of training. I have to get going if I’m going to make the race. He’s 50-50 at this point.”

Mr. Hinx, second in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship at 41-1, is a candidate for the $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes for California-breds at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 19, trainer Steve Miyadi said.

Ransom the Moon, who finished fourth in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship by 5 1/2 lengths, will proceed to the BC Sprint, trainer Phil D’Amato said.

D’Amato lamented the absence of a quick pace for a California sprint Saturday. The opening quarter mile was run in 22.07 seconds.

“He broke a little tardy and they went 22,” D’Amato said. “It seemed like everything stayed where they were on the main track.”