Solis Is Gunning for the Derby Aboard Stronach’s Red Bullet

When asked last week at Santa Anita how he landed the mount on Red Bullet, the undefeated colt who’s running in today’s $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, the usually talkative Alex Solis turned vague. “Better ask my agent, to get the whole story,” he said.

Before a call could be placed to the agent, Scott McClellan, Red Bullet’s trainer, Joe Orseno, was encountered at Belmont Park this week. When Orseno was asked about Solis riding his horse, two other people tumbled out of his stable office in convulsions. They were guffawing so loudly they couldn’t contain themselves.

It is a pretty funny story. Or at least one of the goofiest.

Red Bullet, who has run only three times, all this year, was ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan and Jerry Bailey in his first two starts. Bailey could have ridden Red Bullet again in the Gotham Stakes, at Aqueduct on March 19, but he got what he considered a better opportunity for that day, the chance to ride Anees, last year’s champion 2-year-old male, in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita.

“Bailey made an 11th-hour decision,” Orseno said, “but that was all right. I had no problem with that.”

Bailey had recently hired the California-based Ron Anderson, who has moved east to book mounts for his new client. So when Orseno was on the phone with Anderson, learning that Bailey had jumped to Anees, he asked the agent if he had a number for Corey Nakatani, the leading rider at Santa Anita.

Anderson accidentally gave Orseno the wrong number. When Orseno dialed it, McClellan answered. McClellan books the mounts for Chris McCarron besides Solis.

“I thought I was calling Nakatani,” Orseno told McClellan. “But as long as I’ve got you on the phone, would Chris be available to ride my horse?”

Orseno didn’t know that McClellan also represented Solis, but McClellan said:

“Chris can’t make it, he’s got The Deputy at Santa Anita that day, but how about my other guy? Alex Solis. He’d be good for your horse.”

So that’s how Solis backed into the mount on Red Bullet, and after they won the Gotham together--Bailey finished third with Anees in the San Felipe and has moved on to War Chant as his Kentucky Derby horse--they’ll try to knock off Fusaichi Pegasus, the 4-5 morning-line favorite in today’s Wood.

“Solis had never ridden for me until now,” said Orseno, who saddled his first winner in 1977. “We hope to go to the Kentucky Derby [May 6] with this colt, and I like the idea that Solis has had a lot of Derby experience. I think you need that in that race. Edgar Prado was available, but I like Solis better because he’s ridden in the Derby several times.”

From 1997 to 1999, Prado rode 1,412 winners, leading the country all three years, but he has never had a Derby mount. Solis, 36, has never won the Derby, but he’s been in the race nine times, finishing second twice, with Captain Bodgit in 1997 and with Victory Gallop in 1998. The first time Solis rode in the Wood, he won the stake with Captain Bodgit. His only Triple Crown win came with Snow Chief in the 1986 Preakness. His epic win came in 1996, when he won the Pacific Classic at Del Mar with Dare And Go as Cigar finished third for his first defeat in 17 races.

Although Red Bullet had a troubled trip in the Gotham before beating Aptitude--another Wood starter--by a half-length, Orseno couldn’t fault Solis’ ride.

“He did a wonderful job,” Orseno said. “There was some traffic on the [far] turn, and my horse got bumped pretty bad. But Alex just rode the horse through. If he had checked his horse at that point, he might have thrown him off-stride.”

Orseno, 44, is a Philadelphia native who parked cars at a restaurant across the street from Garden State Park when he was in high school. Gravitating to the track, Orseno took out a trainer’s license several years later. He has won almost 2,000 races, and although he has been a meet-leading trainer at tracks in New Jersey and Delaware, two years ago he took on the most high-profile, daunting assignment of his career when he became the head private trainer for Frank Stronach’s monolithic stable.

Red Bullet, bred by Stronach, was foaled after the mating of Unbridled, the 1990 Kentucky Derby winner, and Cargo, a daughter of the Irish-bred Caro. He did not run as a 2-year-old, which is a historical albatross in the Derby. The last and only unraced 2-year-old to win the Derby was Apollo in 1882. The last undefeated horse to win the Derby was Seattle Slew, en route to a Triple Crown sweep in 1977.

In a year in which he looks to have his first Derby starter, Orseno might even send a second Stronach horse to Churchill Downs. Ben The Man, a $1.25-million yearling, recovered from an abysmal outing in Florida to win here at 1 1/8 miles last month, and he’ll run next in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 23.

Notes

A high of 60 degrees is forecast for Aqueduct today, with a chance of drizzling rain. . . . Although 12 horses are entered for the Wood, there’s a bigger field--14 horses--running in another Kentucky Derby prep today, the $500,000 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Snuck In is the 2-1 favorite. . . . At Keeneland, a fast track is likely for the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass. Hal’s Hope, the Florida Derby winner, is still only the third choice on the morning line. Favored at 2-1 is Mighty, the Louisiana Derby winner. . . . Classy Cara, with the Southern California connections of jockey Ignacio Puglisi and trainer Doug O’Neill, won the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn by 1 1/2 lengths over Eden Lodge. Miss Seffens, unbeaten in four career races and the 4-5 favorite, finished a nonthreatening fourth.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Today’s Kentucky Derby Prep Races

*--*

Race Track Distance Purse Blue Grass Stakes Keeneland 1 1/8 miles $750,000 Wood Memorial Aqueduct 1 1/8 miles $750,000 Arkansas Derby Oaklawn Park 1 1/8 miles $500,000 California Derby Golden Gate Fields 1 1/8 miles $250,000

*--*

Note: Coverage of Blue Grass Stakes, Arkansas Derby and Wood Memorial begins at 2 p.m. on Channel 7

TRIPLE CROWN RACES

* Kentucky Derby, May 6 * Preakness Stakes, May 20 * Belmont Stakes, June 10