Mick Ruis was raised in the Rios Canyon area of Lakeside, which is named for his great-grandfather Peter Rios, and wrestled for El Capitan High School. Ruis is now affiliated with the sport of horse racing and is both the owner and the trainer of Bolt d’Oro, who won the Del Mar Futurity which was contested September 4 on the final day of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s summer meet.
“I don’t think that it could have went better,” Ruis said.
Mick Ruis was raised in the Rios Canyon area of Lakeside, which is named for his great-grandfather Peter Rios, and wrestled for El Capitan High School. Ruis is now affiliated with the sport of horse racing and is both the owner and the trainer of Bolt d’Oro, who won the Del Mar Futurity which was contested September 4 on the final day of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s summer meet.
“I don’t think that it could have went better,” Ruis said.
Although Bolt d’Oro broke last among the nine horses in the seven-furlong race, he took the lead in the stretch and finished three-quarters of a length in front of second-place Zatter, who is trained by Bob Baffert.
“At the end we were drawing away from Bob’s horse,” Ruis said.
“I knew we could come off the pace,” Ruis said. “The horse has got some speed.”
Ruis, who is now 56, made his fortune in the scaffolding business. He currently lives in Arcadia and owns ranches in Descanso and in Bigfork, Montana. Ruis, who brought 35 horses to the Del Mar meet, is the trainer of the horses he owns. “I like doing things my way,” he said.
Bolt d’Oro was foaled in Kentucky on March 17, 2015, and was sired by Medaglia d’Oro out of Globe Trot. In August 2016 Ruis purchased him at the Saratoga yearling sale for $630,000.
“I said I wanted a horse that looks like Arrogate. I want a long body, but I want balance,” Ruis said.
Bolt d’Oro first competed on August 5 in a 6 1/2-furlong race at Del Mar. Bolt d’Oro and jockey Corey Nakatani won that race by 2 1/4 lengths.
“He shouldn’t have that kind of speed for that body,” Ruis said.
The first quarter-mile of this year’s Del Mar Futurity took leader Soul Streit 21.88 seconds to complete. Bolt d’Oro and Nakatani were in eighth place, 4 1/2 lengths behind. Half a mile into the race Bolt d’Oro was in seventh and 2 1/4 lengths behind Soul Streit, who was still in front. Zatter had the lead entering the stretch while Bolt d’Oro was in second a length behind.
“He’s a very talented horse,” Nakatani said.
Bolt d’Oro had a winning time of 1:22.91.
“It’s super exciting for us,” Ruis said of the Del Mar Futurity win.
Five horses that won the Del Mar Futurity as two-year-olds also won the following year’s Kentucky Derby, including 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh. The Kentucky Derby won’t take place until May 5, but the Breeders’ Cup will be held November 3-4 at Del Mar and Ruis is considering running Bolt d’Oro in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile race.
“He could be right there with the other horses,” Ruis said. “This horse is only going to improve.”
