Miller achieves Del Mar trainer championship, stakes win on final weekend

Peter Miller, who trains his horses at the San Luis Rey Training Center when he does not have them at the track where the meet is being held, is the trainer champion for the 2020 Del Mar Thoroughbred Club summer meet.

"Thankful and grateful," Miller said. "I'm very appreciative of my team, everyone on the team."

Miller ended the meet with 28 wins, including six victories in stakes races. His final stakes win of the meet occurred September 4 when Good With People won the I'm Smokin Stakes for California-bred two-year-olds. Miller had 116 starts during the meet and added 25 second-place results and six third-place finishes to his 28 wins.

Phil D'Amato, who has some of his horses at San Luis Rey, was second in the final trainer standings with 20 wins. Bob Baffert had 15 victories for third place. Doug O'Neill, who stables some of his horses at San Luis Rey, totaled 13 wins for fourth place in the trainer standings. Richard Baltas, who has horses at San Luis Rey and elsewhere, had 12 victories as did John Sadler, although Baltas was listed as the fifth-place trainer because 13 of his horses finished second while Sadler took second place 11 times during the meet.

The combination of six stakes victories and 22 wins in other races also made Miller the leading trainer in earnings as well as in victories. "That was a really nice accomplishment and a credit to our team. Everyone worked very hard this year," he said.

Miller's horses earned a total of $1,499,572 during the meet. Baffert was second in trainer earnings with $1,432,102. The trainer championship is based on victories only rather than earnings, although the owner title is based on earnings for the meet.

The Del Mar summer meet championship is the fourth for Miller including one shared title. He won 31 races in 2018 when his $1,438,446 in trainer earnings was second to Sadler's $1,716,005. Miller won his first Del Mar trainer championship in 2012 and shared the 2014 summer meet championship with Jerry Hollendorfer. Del Mar began its fall meet in 2014 and Miller won the fall trainer championships for 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

O'Neill won the 2019 summer meet trainer title while Miller was second, Baltas was third, and D'Amato had the fifth-most trainer wins. O'Neill was second in wins behind Miller for the 2018 summer meet while D'Amato and Baltas matched each other in wins with second-place finishes giving D'Amato fourth and Baltas fifth in the final standings.

The I'm Smokin Stakes is six furlongs on Del Mar's dirt track. Abel Cedillo was Good With People's jockey.

"The horse ran a great race and Abel rode a great race. Very happy for the owners," Miller said.

Good With People is owned by Kirk and Judy Robison.

Six horses were scratched from the I'm Smoking Stakes, leaving a four-horse field. Not only did that create fewer opponents for Good With People, but it also gave all four horses more room and reduced the chance of a horse being stuck behind another competitor.

"It certainly didn't hurt," Miller said of the smaller field.

Cedillo had ridden Good With People in the colt's two previous races, so Miller didn't plan a specific strategy for the I'm Smokin Stakes. "I kind of left it up to the jockey," Miller said.

Tacoflavoredkisses and jockey Umberto Rispoli broke first. Good With People and Cedillo were the second horse-jockey combination out of the gate. The first quarter of a mile took Good With People 22.48 seconds. He reached that point half a length in front of Tacoflavoredkisses, who was second after two furlongs.

Good With People was half a mile away from the starting gate 45.59 seconds after the race began. Touchdown Brown had moved into second by the end of the first half-mile but was a length in back of Good With People.

Touchdown Brown was two lengths behind Good with People as the horses entered the stretch. Good With People reached the stretch 57.51 seconds after the start of the race.

Good With People finished half a length in front of Touchdown Brown, who was 4 1/4 lengths ahead of third-place Tacoflavoredkisses. Good With People completed the race in 1:10.37.

"The horse ran very well, much better than his last race, and hopefully he can go onward and upward," Miller said.

Good With People's previous race Aug. 2 was the 5 1/2-furlong Graduation Stakes. He held the lead from the end of the first quarter-mile to the start of the stretch but was unable to hold first place and finished second, half a length behind Positivity.

The only other previous race for Good With People occurred July 12 at Del Mar. He won that five-furlong contest by 3 1/4 lengths and held the lead for nearly all of the race.

Good With People was foaled in California on April 26, 2018. He was sired by Curlin to Mischief out of Gator Prowl.

The total purse for the I'm Smokin Stakes was $94,000. First place paid $57,000 and brought Good With People's career earnings to $106,000.

The next race for Good With People is to be determined.