Miller off to good start at Del Mar

A win with The Final Roar in the fourth race July 23 at Del Mar allowed Peter Miller to maintain a tie for second place in the trainer standings for the meet.

“We’re very happy the way the meet is going so far,” said Miller, who trains at the San Luis Rey Downs Thoroughbred Training Center.

Miller won two races July 17, with Goodday and Delaware Doe, and a July 19 win with Wild and Ready gave Miller second place in the trainer standings, although that became a three-way tie the following day and a four-way tie July 21.

Miller ended July 23 one win behind leader Mike Mitchell and even with John Sadler and Jerry Hollendorfer.

“I don’t really look at that too much,” Miller said of his second-place status. “I don’t have enough horses to compete for the title.”

Miller’s four wins, along with a second-place finish and a third-place result, were derived from nine starts at Del Mar. Mitchell’s five wins, two second-place horses, and two third-place finishes highlighted his 18 starts.

Sadler’s 19 starts produced four wins and six second-place results, while 13 starts provided Hollendorfer with four wins, a second-place finish, and five third-place races.

Fifth-ranking Doug O’Neill had 20 starts over the meet’s first seven days to earn three wins, five seconds, and four thirds.

“Horses are running good,” Miller said.

The Final Roar won a 5 1/2-furlong maiden claiming race for two-year-olds in 1:04.98. He led the entire race and finished 4 3/4 lengths in front of second-place Form a Posse.

“It’s never easy,” Miller said. “The racing is extremely competitive at Del Mar.”

Miller’s 53 starts at the 2007 Del Mar Thoroughbred Club meet gave him 11 wins, tying him for fifth among trainers, along with five second-place and five third-place finishes.

The 11 wins included a Grade 1 stakes win with Set Play in the Del Mar Debutante, and Set Play was also named the top two-year-old filly of the 2007 meet.

In 2007 Miller led the Del Mar training standings for the first two weeks of the meet. He had four wins in the first two days of the 2007 meet, added two more wins during the second week, and earned his seventh win on the first day of the third week.

While good horses who stay healthy and good jockeys are part of the formula Miller attributes to his success, he also notes that winning isn’t guaranteed. “I get lucky,” he said. “That’s part of it.”

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