Roy H ran down Imperial Hint to give More Than Ready another Breeders’ Cup title at Del Mar on Saturday.
The Vinery champion sired Rushing Fall to win the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf-Gr.1 on Friday and Roy H chimed in with a one-length victory in the BC Sprint-Gr.1.
Always prominent under Kent Desormeaux, he made headway to press the front-runners and then took over in the straight to score by a length, eased down, in 1:08.61 over 1200m. Local trainer Peter Miller was overwhelmed having also prepped Stormy Liberal to win the BC Turf Sprint-Gr.1 earlier in the afternoon.
“It’s amazing…two Breeders’ Cup wins in one day,” Miller beamed. “The race shaped up the way we thought it would. We saw a lot of speed in there and we figured Roy H could sit third or fourth and make his big run. He did it just the way we drew it up.”
Roy H had won the True North Stakes-G2 at Belmont in June and was very impressive winning the Santa Anita Sprint Championship-Gr.1 last month. He would be undefeated this year if not for being carried off the track by the riderless Drefong in the Bing Crosby Hcp-Gr.1 at Del Mar in July.
“He had to man-up today and fight for a spot twice after the start,” Desormeaux explained. “After that, he raced off my fingertips and absolutely exploded turning for home. He was full of run and we were safe once he gained the ascendency.”
Bred in Kentucky by Ramona Bass, Roy H has won 6 of 17 starts for earnings over $1.36 million. He was a $310,000 buy at the Keeneland 2YO Sale in April 2015. More Than Ready sired him from Hollywood Park Group 3 winner Elusive Diva (Elusive Quality).
The Vinery champion’s Breeders’ Cup double this weekend increased his Championship tally to 5 after priors with Regally Ready (Turf Sprint), Pluck (Juvenile Turf) & More Than Real (Juvenile Fillies Turf). Roy H provided his first BC winner on dirt.
