e mound against Danny Duffy (11-2) of the Roy | Forum
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Mar 16 '19
For a guy who started the year with his barn blowing down, Peter Miller has done okay. Cheap NCAA Football Jerseys .Early last January, on a quiet weekday afternoon, Millers main barn at the San Luis Rey Downs Training Center was hit with what meteorologists termed a microburst that razed half the roof, dismantled stalls, and sent the stable crew scrambling to soothe the jangled nerves of the four-legged residents. Its easier to say the place was trashed by a tornado, so lets go with that.Thankfully, no horses were harmed, but the barn was awash, including Millers freshly decorated office. The operation moved to the barn next door, with auxiliary stalls provided just up the road, and like all racetrackers faced with adversity, they coped.As one of a handful of trainers who appreciates irony, Miller decided the twister attack was natures way of acknowledging his best year ever in 2015, when his stable earnings of more than $5.8 million were good for 14th in the national standings. Miller was conservative in the wake of the big blow, concerned there might be lingering effects from the trauma, but by the time Del Mar came around in July, the barn was hitting on all cylinders.After finishing second to Phil DAmato during the summer meet, Miller took the fall title at Santa Anita and then went nuts at the short Del Mar fall session, winning with 16 of 46 starters, doubling the next name on the list. He knows the odds of that happening again anytime soon are somewhere between slim and zip.That was fun, Miller said. But lets be honest, it was ridiculous.If there is any of the Del Mar fall magic left over, Miller would like to deploy it on Saturday in the $300,000 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity. He will be running the recent maiden winner Bobby Abu Dhabi, a son of Macho Uno purchased last April in Ocala, Fla., for Gary Hartunians Rockingham Ranch. The price was $335,000.Millers colt is surrounded in the Futurity by two from the Doug ONeill stable, led by Oak Tree Juvenile winner Dangerfield, and two from Bob Baffert, including the favored Mastery, the winner of the Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar. Baffert is going for his third straight running of the race since it was rescued from the debris of the Hollywood Park closing, while Miller sports a Futurity win from 2010, when Comma to the Top braved a bad track.Conditions should be benign on Saturday, when the Los Alamitos program also features the $300,000 Starlet Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, matching Del Mar Debutante winner Union Strike and Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies third-place finisher American Gal. For those who still can handle a doubleheader, that same evening the track will present the $600,000 Champion of Champions for the cream of the Quarter Horse sport.As far as running the inexperienced Bobby Abu Dhabi, Miller sees no reason to be intimidated by a Futurity history that includes such winners as Roving Boy, Point Given, A.P. Indy, Snow Chief, Lookin At Lucky, and Shared Belief.Certainly for a Grade 1 and $300,000, its a very modest field, basically a non-winners- other-than except for Mastery, Miller said. It looks like all but one of the runners ran on Nov. 19, so Im sure everyone would like more than three weeks between races.Bobby Abu Dhabi -- named for an acquaintance of Hartunians from a trip to the United Arab Emirates -- won a 6-1/2-furlong maiden race the same day Mastery took the seven-furlong Bob Hope, while Dangerfield was running third in the Delta Downs Jackpot and Irap was finishing fourth in a maiden event on the Del Mar turf. For those who care, Masterys speed figures from his two races dominate the others in the field.I was a little concerned he might have run a little too fast the first time out, Miller said of Bobby Abu Dhabi. I was glad to see he got a nice mid-range 75 Beyer. Of course, thats the million-dollar question -- are they doing it right and running within themselves, or are they already at their top? Weve loved our colt from the beginning, so Im going to believe theres a lot more ahead for him.Miller shipped Bobby Abu Dhabi from San Luis Rey to Los Alamitos last Sunday for a five-furlong work in 59 seconds flat. None of the others in the field shows a work or a race over the track.Its a different configuration with a long stretch, Miller noted. We figured why not get him up there and get the lay of the land? And he worked beautifully. He came right back to San Luis Rey after the work.Thats no big deal. Training at San Luis Rey, Millers runners are always on the van going somewhere. Even during the meets at nearby Del Mar, the trainer prefers the calm and quiet of the training center to the hustle and bustle of a host track.For my horses, theyre all away games, he said.In the meantime, Miller is still waiting for San Luis Rey management to rebuild his old barn. He kind of misses it, and it is -- or was -- the first barn anyone saw when visiting the training center.For now, its kind of a reminder, Miller said. In this game, you better be able to survive anything. Discount College Jerseys . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. College Jerseys Outlet . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. http://www.jerseyscheapncaa.com/ . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. DETROIT -- JaCoby Jones is the latest youngster to give the Detroit Tigers a boost in their push for a postseason spot.Jones doubled twice in his second major league game, then dashed home for the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Collins in the ninth inning to lift the Tigers over the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Wednesday.After a day after doubling, singling and driving in two runs in his debut, Jones scored twice to help the Tigers complete a three-game sweep.Hes been a real spark plug for us -- a shot in the arm, teammate Justin Verlander said. Its a lot of fun to watch, and hopefully its the beginning of an amazing career.The Tigers acquired Jones last year when they traded Joakim Soria to Pittsburgh. Around the same time, they also traded David Price and Yoenis Cespedes, receiving pitchers Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd and Michael Fulmer in those deals.Fulmer has become a front-runner for rookie of the year this season, and Norris and Boyd have also made contributions. Now Jones is in the majors and off to a fine start.Its great, its amazing. Theres so many words I could use to describe it, Jones said. Just amazing, and Im just happy.Jones hit a leadoff double in the ninth against David Robertson (4-3) and advanced to third on Jarrod Saltalamacchias deep flyball.Collins came up as a pinch-hitter and was able to lift the ball to left-center. Avisail Garcia made the catch, but his throw bounced before it even reached the mound.Francisco Rodriguez (2-3) pitched the ninth.Jose Abreu and Alex Avila homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth for the White Sox.White Sox ace Chris Sale allowed two runs and eight hits in eight innings against a Detroit lineup that was without Miguel Cabrera. The slugging first baseman sat out because his right ankle had been acting up.Chicago was without Melky Cabrera, who missed the game because of stomach discomfort.Verlander allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings for the Tigers, striking out nine.I tthought both of them, Justin and (Sale), this is the kind of matchup that you expected it to be, Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. Wholesale College Basketball Jerseys. Verlander retired the first eight hitters he faced, striking out six of them. With two outs in the fourth, Abreu connected for his 19th homer of the year. Avila followed with a drive to the bushes beyond the wall in center, giving Chicago a 2-0 lead against his former team.Verlander did not allow another baserunner after Avilas home run. Detroit scored a run on Andrew Romines single in the fifth, and J.D. Martinez tied it with a two-out RBI single in the eighth.The Tigers came into the day one game behind Baltimore for the American Leagues second wild card.OLD FRIENDSAvila spent his entire career in Detroit before this season, and Verlander laughed when asked about giving up the home run to his former teammate.I know Im going to be hearing about it, Verlander said. I think Im going to ask him back for one of the watches I gifted him. Its only fair, I think.NEXT YEARS SCHEDULEDetroit opens against the White Sox in Chicago on April 3 and the Tigers host Boston on April 7 in their home opener, according to a draft of the 2017 preliminary schedule. The preliminary schedule will be announced by Major League Baseball in September.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (neck) pitched four innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Toledo at Indianapolis on Wednesday, allowing one unearned run and one hit. He walked one and struck out four.UP NEXTWhite Sox: Chicago plays at Minnesota on Thursday night. LHP Jose Quintana (11-9) starts against Ervin Santana (6-10).Tigers: Detroit has Thursday off before playing at Kansas City. RHP Anibal Sanchez (7-13) takes the mound against Danny Duffy (11-2) of the Royals on Friday night.---AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report. ' ' '
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