Miller's horses finish 1-2 in fourth race on Opening Day at Del Mar

Opening Day for this year’s Del Mar Thoroughbred Club summer meet was July 17, and in the fourth race a pair of San Luis Rey Training Center horses trained by Peter Miller took the top two positions.

Aftermarketslam and Super Reagan, both 3-year-old geldings who joined Miller’s barn after being claimed during a June 1 race at Santa Anita, finished first and second in the one-mile maiden claiming race for horses 3 years old and upward.

Aftermarketslam, ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, won with a time of 1:38.74 and finished half a length ahead of Super Reagan, who was ridden by Elvis Trujillo.

“It was a great thrill, a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the race. Didn’t know who to root for,” Miller said.

Miller had eight horses who raced during the day, which was the most on Opening Day for any trainer. “Just worked out that way. It wasn’t a goal, but we had a lot of horses that fit the conditions and got lucky and got them all in and got lucky and got a win and a couple of seconds,” Miller said.

Miller and Doug O’Neill each had eight horses entered, although one of O’Neill’s horses was on the “also eligible” list which allowed it to run if any of the horses which filled the field were scratched.

Miller first saddled a horse that day for the second race, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden claiming race for fillies and mares 3 years old and upward. Full of Spice and jockey Victor Espinoza had a one-length lead after half a mile and a 1 1/2-length lead entering the stretch, but Bird in Love won that race by a 5 1/4-length margin and Full of Spice finished second. The 4-year-old filly, who was racing for the first time since Dec. 15, had run in six previous races with her previous best finish being a third-place result in October at Santa Anita.

Miller’s horse in the third race, a six-furlong race for fillies and mares 3 years old and upward, was My Happy Face. The four-year-old filly ridden by Rafael Bejarano finished third, three lengths behind winner Kinz Funky Monkey.

Aftermarketslam had the seventh post position in the fourth race. Super Reagan started from the second post position. Super Reagan broke fourth among the nine horses while Aftermarketslam was sixth out of the gate. After a quarter of a mile, Aftermarketslam was third, three-quarters of a length behind leader Jack Diz and half a length behind second-place Three Point Luke, while Super Reagan was in sixth.

Three Point Luke reached the half-mile marker 47.75 seconds into the race with the lead and a head in front of second-place Aftermarketslam while Super Reagan was sixth. Aftermarketslam took the lead shortly afterward and had covered the first three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.80; he held a one-length lead over Super Reagan, who had moved into second a head in front of third-place Golden Chalice.

Aftermarketslam entered the stretch 1:26.44 into the race and a head in front of Super Reagan, who had a 2 1/2-length lead over third-place Golden Chalice. Cotton Valley was the eventual third-place finisher, 5 3/4 lengths behind Aftermarketslam and 5 1/4 lengths in back of Super Reagan.

The $5,000 winner’s share of the $25,000 total purse increased the career earnings of Aftermarketslam to $15,810 for his four races. Aftermarketslam finished second April 12 at Golden Gate Park and June 1 in Santa Anita and was pulled off the track during his May 11 race at Santa Anita.

Aftermarketslam was foaled in California on Feb. 7, 2011, and was bred by Mr. and Mrs. Larry Williams. His sire is After Market, who was a foal of Storm Cat, and his dam was Royal Grand Slam. Gary and Cecil Barber claimed Aftermarketslam from Mr. and Mrs. Williams.

Super Reagan is owned by J. Kirk and Judy Robison, who claimed him from breeder Tom Roberts. He was foaled in California in February 2011. Super Reagan was sired by Successful Appeal out of Irish Bracelet and made his racing debut at Hollywood Park on Nov. 17, 2013. Super Reagan finished fourth both in his debut race and in the same June 1 race at Santa Anita in which Aftermarketslam finished second, giving the gelding $4,090 in career earnings prior to the $5,000 he earned at Del Mar. Super Reagan also ran June 19 at Santa Anita and finished seventh.

The eighth race of the day was the Oceanside Stakes. Miller trained Love Rules All, who spent most of the race in second place before finishing sixth approximately 2 1/2 lengths behind winner Enterprising.

In the seventh race Miller saddled No Barneys, who finished last among the 10 horses.

Miller had two horses in the ninth race: Xuang Feng and Close to the Edge. Xuang Feng finished fourth, although only a length behind winner Passing Game. Close to the Edge was 10th among the 11 horses, although only 7 1/4 lengths behind Passing Game. Xuang Feng was claimed for the $18,000 price and will now be training with Adam Kitchingman.

“It was a great day, good day of racing, great weather,” Miller said.

Miller, who lives in Carlsbad, had trained at what was originally the San Luis Rey Downs Thoroughbred Training Center for approximately 18 years. His success between 2006 and 2010 led to a growing barn and a requirement for a larger facility. The San Luis Rey Downs Thoroughbred Training Center closed for renovations in June 2013 before re-opening in January 2014 as the San Luis Rey Training Center, and Miller returned to the upgraded San Luis Rey facility.

“Very nice to be back home,” Miller said.