Ruis 'developing the babies' with Bolt d'Oro to Asmussen barn
A relieved and upbeat Mick Ruis and his wife Wendy were back at Del Mar for the first time since last fall’s Breeders’ Cup, attending the races on Friday and their charges at Barn LL in the stable area on Saturday morning.
On Thursday, Mick announced that Ruis Racing’s winners of the top events for 2-year-olds at Del Mar the last two years – Union Strike in the 2016 Debutante and Bolt d’Oro in the 2017 Futurity – had been turned over to Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen for upcoming East Coast campaigning.
Both horses are at Asmussen’s stable at Saratoga. Union Strike is being targeted for the Ballerina Stakes there in a few weeks. The racing return for Bolt d’Oro, on hiatus since disappointing finishes of 12th in the Kentucky Derby and last against tough older horses in the $1.2 million Met Mile on Belmont Stakes day in June, has yet to be determined.
Ruis expressed contentment with the decision and the person who’ll now be in charge of the horses that boosted the stable to prominence. While other trainers, among them Bob Baffert, were considered, Asmussen’s East/Midwest base and his enthusiasm for Bolt d’Oro proved deciding factors.
“Right after the Met Mile, I started thinking about it,” Ruis said. “I’d spent the last six months of my life with Bolt, but I have 1,200 employees in three companies also to think about. I didn’t want to cheat Bolt d’Oro and I didn’t want to spread myself too thin.
“It was a tough decision, those are my babies, but I know Steve Asmussen has passion for the business. He’s trained three Horses of the Year and he’s excited about training Bolt. He (Asmussen) made three or four trips to (Ruis’ recently-purchased Chestnut Farm in Versailles, Kentucky) to see him.
“Bolt looks great. Steve’s excited to have him.”
Ruis, an accomplished high school wrestler, compared the experience to his as a parent of sons who were wrestling standouts as well.
“I taught my boys how to wrestle and coached them when they were real young. Then when they got to high school I turned them over to Wayne Branstetter and, after that I got to sit back and watch them grow and become champions,” Ruis said. “It’s going to be a nice break for Wendy and me. We’ll be able to fly in, sit in the stands and have the fun without the stress.”
Ruis Racing has 17 stalls at Del Mar and 11 more runners at San Luis Rey Downs that could ship in when ready. Besides those close to or race ready, Ruis Racing has 23 recent foals from their stallions War Envoy, the only California-based son of War Front, and Saburu, the only California-based son of Medaglia d’Oro.
“We’ll be concentrating on developing the babies,” said Ruis, whose daughter Shelbe, who saddled Union Strike to win the Debutante, will be in charge of the stable when he’s occupied with other businesses.
Five Ruis 2-year-olds were nominated for the September 3 Del Mar Futurity. Ruis said the most advanced of the quintet is named Kneedeepinsnow. A $130,000 purchase at the Keeneland September sale last year, Kneedeepinsnow, a son of Flat Out, has a series of six workouts prepping for his racing debut, the most recent a four-furlong go in :49.40 on Friday.