gary barber | Horse Racing Free Tips

Trainer Peter Miller Set to Return at Churchill Downs

Peter Miller, who has not started a horse since Nov. 28, will make his return Sunday at Churchill Downs when he sends out Respect the Code (Honor Code) in the eighth race.

Miller announced last fall that he was taking a break from training, explaining in a press release that he wanted to “spend more time with his family, focus on overall health and wellness, and pursue other interests.” At the time, the bulk of his stable was moved over to his former assistant Ruben Alvarado.

In a text message, Miller, 55, explained that he chose to launch his comeback with Respect the Code because he wanted his first horse back to be owned by Gary Barber. “He's been my biggest supporter for over 15 years,” Miller wrote.

Miller went on to explain that Respect the Code is his only horse he has in Kentucky and that the bulk of his stable will be in Southern California. He said he is gearing up for the meets at Los Alamitos and Del Mar. The Los Alamitos meet begins June 22 and the Del Mar season begins July 13.

When asked via text if the horses that had been turned over to Alvarado will return to his stable, Miller wrote, “I hope so.”

Miller's status at Santa Anita remains unclear. By deadline for this story, Aidan Butler, the chief operating officer for 1/st Racing, which owns, Santa Anita, had not responded to a text asking whether or not Miller's entries would be accepted at the Arcadia, California track.

Miller's announcement that he was stepping away from training came shortly after a horse under his care died at the San Luis Rey training center. In 2021, five horses in his care suffered catastrophic injuries, the highest number of any single trainer in California this year. Though 1/st Racing did not publicly take any action against Miller, there was speculation that he was forced out. When announcing his hiatus, Miller said the decision was strictly his own.

“I know that there may be some speculation related to this decision; however, I want to make it very clear that it is not a result of any regulatory action, secret agreement or hidden agenda of any kind,” he said in the press release. “This is strictly a personal decision.”

Miller, who has won nine training titles at Del Mar, has 1,338 career wins.

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Aiming for ‘Glory’ in the Pegasus F/M Turf

Since its inaugural running in 2017, the Pegasus World Cup Invitational has become one of the marquee events during Gulfstream's Championship Meeting. Its 'Turf' equivalent, which was added in 2019, was won by that season's Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar, and three years later, a division for the fairer set is added to the card, the GIII TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational S.

Formerly the Marshua's River S., the 8 1/2-furlong test for older fillies and mares features a pair of Grade I winners–morning line favorite Peter Brant's Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) and Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), a homebred for Charles Fipke.

The former, a half-sister to MGSW Night Prowler (Giant's Causeway), is an eight-time stakes winner, including the most recent Del Mar's GI Matriarch S. Nov. 28. Last season, she also annexed the Plenty of Grace S. and De La Rose S., in addition to finishing runner-up in the GI First Lady S. The daughter of MGSW Mary's Follies was plucked out of the Paul Pompa Jr. dispersal at Keeneland last January by Brant for $925,000.

Lady Speightspeare showed her class early on, taking her career debut while becoming a 'TDN Rising Star' at Woodbine in August before taking the one-mile GI Natalma S. at that venue to cap off her 2-year-old campaign. Back on top in her sophomore reappearance while facing her elders in a Woodbine optional claimer last September, she was scratched after acting up in the gate before Keeneland's GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Oct. 16 and was scratched by her trainer Roger Attfield prior to the Oct. 29 GIII Rubicon Valley View S. Trying a synthetic surface for the first time in the seven-panel GII Bessarabian S. against older rivals at Woodbine Nov. 13, the chestnut rolled home by four lengths before finishing third behind the re-opposing Bipartisanship (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) in her final race of the season in Gulfstream's Tropical Park Oaks Dec. 26. Junior Alvarado rides the 4-year-old for the first time.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, offering very strong candidates in the other two Pegasus races, is represented in this inaugural running by Robert and Lawana Lowe's Sweet Melania (American Pharoah). The consistent filly has hit the board in 12 of 15 lifetime starts, including a recent win over the local turf course in the one-mile GIII Suwanee River S. Dec. 18. On that occasion, she defeated several horses marking their returns here, including runner-up Shifty She (Gone Astray).

“She's had six weeks since [the Suwanee River] and she's eating well, putting on a little more weight,” said Pletcher. “She's also been training very enthusiastically. All the signs you'd like to see. Her coat is better than it was. She just seems to be blossoming right now. This will be a tougher ask, but she's doing great.”

Making her U.S. debut Saturday, Gary Barber and Team Valor's Wakanaka (Ire) (Power {GB}), winner of six of eight starts in Italy while under the care of trainer Diego Dettori. In her final race in Italy, the bay won the G3 Regina Elena Italian 1000 Guineas at Capannelle in Rome last April. Purchased by the current partnership 10 months ago, she suffered from bone bruising after her arrival in the U.S., postponing her Stateside debut.

“Everybody wants to win the 1000 Guineas equivalent. There it's a Group 3, but it's a Classic,” said Team Valor's Barry Irwin. “That's the big focal point for all the fillies.”

He continued, “She was a good 2-year-old. She would have been the second-best 2-year-old filly in Italy. She had six starts: four wins, two seconds. She got beat by the filly [Aria Importante] that wound up being the champion.”

Trained by Bill Mott, the filly will break from post 2 under Umberto Rispoli.

“She's a very likable filly,” said Irwin. “She's got a lot of pizazz about her. And she's got instant turn of foot, which is the one thing that we liked. That's why we buy so many horses over there. You tell them to go and it's like now.”

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Hurry Up And Wait: Italian Import Wakanaka Ready For U.S. Debut In Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf

Wakanaka has a hurry-up-and-wait story that has delivered her to the TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Invitational (G3) Presented by PEPSI Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Bred in Ireland and purchased at a British sale for a mere $4,274, the 4-year-old daughter of Power built her reputation in Italy. Team Valor International CEO Barry Irwin was well aware of her juvenile success, enlisted Gary Barber, a partner in many other horses through the years, and completed the deal to purchase the filly about 10 months ago. Irwin said the name Wakanaka has its origins are in Zimbabwe and means “she's beautiful.”

Now trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Wakanaka has recovered from a physical issue and will have her U.S. coming-out party in the newest addition to the Pegasus World Cup Invitational program.

Wakanaka and jockey Umberto Rispoli will start from Post 2 in the 1 1/16th miles turf race for older fillies and mares.

“She was a good 2-year-old. She would have been the second-best 2-year-old filly in Italy,” Irwin said. “She had six starts: four wins, two seconds. She got beat by the filly (Aria Importante) that wound up being the champion.”

Irwin said that Wakanaka is built like a sprinter, not overly tall but stout and powerful. Three of her 2-year-old wins were in turf sprints by a combined 10 ¾ lengths.

A goal for top 3-year-old fillies in Italy is the Premio Regina Elena Italian One Thousand Guineas (G3) contested at the Capannelle Racecourse in Rome in late April.

“Everybody wants to win the 1000 Guineas equivalent. There it's a Group 3, but it's a Classic,” Irwin said. “That's the big focal point for all the fillies.”

Irwin said the major question about Wakanaka was answered on March 17 in her prep for the Premio Regina Elena, the Premio Cesare Degli Occhi at San Siro.

“Nobody knew if she could rate and they were able to rate her,” Irwin said. “She went a mile and she won by (6 ½) lengths, very impressively.”

Based on that performance, Irwin began the process of trying to buy the filly.

“I was contacted by an agent that we buy a lot of horses with,” he said. “I've gotten plenty of horses in Italy and done extremely well with them. We've had a champion and a couple of Grade 1 winners over the years. I was familiar with the type of races that she was running in. I watched her and I had somebody go in there and check her out for me, a friend of mine who lives there.”

Irwin said he balked at the asking price, then reached out to Barber. The plan they developed was to buy the filly but allow the owner/trainer Diego Dettori to run her in the Premio Regina Elena in his colors and keep whatever purse money she earned.

“He's a young guy,” Irwin said. “It was his first big win. All we wanted was the filly.”

Wakanaka managed to overcome some traffic issues and improved to 6-2-0 from eight starts.

“She had kind of a rough trip. She was stuck between horses. She did rate well,” Irwin said. “Then when she got out, with about a furlong and a half to go, she exploded, opened up about two and a half and then won in hand by a length and a half.”

“We were very happy with that race. She got good speed ratings in Europe for that effort. She's a very likable filly. She's got a lot of pizazz about her. And she's got instant turn of foot, which is the one thing that we liked. That's why we buy so many horses over there. You tell them to go, and it's like now.”

Irwin said they asked Mott to train the horse because of his past success with horses from Italy. It did not turn out to be a be a smooth transition from Europe to American racing, though.

“She wound up getting bone bruising so we had to turn her out for two months,” Irwin said.

When she was ready, trainer Mark Casse and his staff helped get her fit before Mott arrived for the winter at Payson Park. Irwin said that Wakanaka got Mott's attention when she turned in a bullet work on Dec. 13. She has worked every week since and Irwin and Mott decided to run her in the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf.

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God Of Love Will Try To Transfer Tapeta Form To Dirt In Withers

Canadian-bred graded stakes-winner God of Love will look to transfer his good form from Tapeta to dirt when he ships to Aqueduct Racetrack for the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on Feb. 5.

The nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds is the next local prep on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, awarding the top-four finishers 10-4-2-1 qualifying points toward the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs.

Eclipse Thoroughbreds and Gary Barber's God of Love, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, is already a stakes winner over turf and Tapeta in only four starts. Two starts after capturing the Cup and Saucer in October on the Woodbine turf, the chestnut colt provided his young sire Cupid with a first graded stakes winner when taking the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Grey on Nov. 28 on the Woodbine Tapeta.

“He's a pretty good horse. If he can have the same type of form on dirt that he does on the synthetic, he'll be a force. In his last race, he ran a 4.5 Thorograph number, which puts you right there,” Casse said.

One start prior to the Grey, God of Love finished a troubled fifth in the nine-furlong Coronation Futurity on the Woodbine Tapeta after having to steady several times.

“He was the favorite in his start before the Grey and I awarded him worst trip of the year of any horse I ran last year,” Casse said. “It was a terrible, terrible trip. He checked about three or four times.”

God of Love joined Casse's winter division at Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, where he has worked three times since the Grey. The Withers will be God of Love's first race outside of his native Canada.

“I think he'll end up being champion 2-year-old in Canada. The reason I sent him to Toronto was because he was a Canadian-bred,” Casse said.

Bred in Ontario by William D. Graham, God of Love is out of the Three Wonders mare No Wonder, a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Weemissfrankie, who also produced Canadian-bred stakes-winner Muskoka Wonder.

God of Love was a $100,000 purchase at the OBS March Sale, where he was consigned by Golden Thoroughbreds Training and Sales.

Other probable candidates for the Withers include Courvoisier, Smarten Up and Cooke Creek – the top-three finishers of the Jerome – as well as January 2 maiden winner Constitutionlawyer.

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