Roy H vs. Ransom the Moon in Santa Anita Sprint Championship

ARCADIA, Calif. – The Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Saturday will be the fifth meeting in the last 15 months between Roy H, the champion sprinter of 2017, and Ransom the Moon, a multiple stakes winner.

They may represent half the field in the $300,000 race at six furlongs.

As of Sunday, the only other expected starters were Edwards Going Left and Horse Greedy, who are owned by Pete and Kosta Hronis and trained by John Sadler.

The betting will focus on Ransom the Moon and Roy H, who were first and second in their last start, the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar on July 28. Ransom the Moon earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3 with the win, and the winner of the Santa Anita Sprint Championship will also receive a fees-paid berth.

Over the weekend, trainer Peter Miller was confident Roy H would rebound from his loss in the Bing Crosby.

“You’ll see the real Roy H this time,” he wrote in a text message.

Roy H and Ransom the Moon have each won twice in their first four meetings. Ransom the Moon and Roy H were first and second in the 2017 Bing Crosby, a race in which Roy H was carried wide by a loose horse. Roy H won the Santa Anita Sprint Championship in 2017, with Ransom the Moon fourth.

Roy H won the 2017 BC Sprint at Del Mar, while Ransom the Moon was fifth. The Bing Crosby Stakes on July 28 was their first meeting this year.

The Santa Anita Sprint Championship is one of two stakes on Saturday with Breeders’ Cup implications. The Grade 2 City of Hope Mile on turf could produce a runner for the BC Mile. As of last weekend, the candidates for the $200,000 City of Hope Mile were Big Score, Cashman, Double Touch, Fly to Mars, Le Ken, Ohio, and Sharp Samurai.