Champion Roy H switching jockeys for Pat O'Brien Stakes

Champion sprinter Roy H will switch to a former jockey Saturday for Del Mar’s Grade 2, $200,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes. 

Ridden by Kent Desormeaux in his last five starts, including Grade 1 wins in the 2017 Santa Anita Sprint Championship and the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Roy H will have Paco Lopez returning to the irons in the Pat O’ Brien, a “Win and You’re In” event for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Roy H also ran second in the Pat O'Brien this year with Desormeaux aboard.

Owner Rockingham Ranch's racing manager, Brian Trump, said connections were pleased with the 6-year-old gelding’s last work, and that trainer Peter Miller wanted to "mix things up" for Saturday’s race with the rider change.

Lopez last rode Roy H in 2017, winning the Grade 2 True North Stakes before finishing second in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes.

In Saturday's Pat O'Brien, Roy H will face, among others, Ransom the Moon, the Bing Crosby winner; breakout San Antonio Stakes winner Catalina Cruiser; and Battle of Midway, who's making his first start since a brief stint at stud following his 2017 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile score.