Solis’ Injured Ribs Mean a New Rider for Prime Ruler

Prime Ruler, the morning-line favorite in the Del Mar Futurity as the meet closes today, will have a new rider in the $250,000 Grade II race for 2-year-olds after regular jockey Alex Solis bruised his ribs in a spill Monday.

Chris Paasch, Prime Ruler’s trainer, said he was still settling on a replacement Tuesday.

“Jon Court does a lot of riding for us, so that’s a possibility,” he said.

Prime Ruler is “a real smart horse. I don’t feel it will affect his chances.”

Solis was injured in the ninth race at Del Mar on Monday when his mount, Winning Tactics, stumbled out of the gate.

“I knew about it three minutes later,” Paasch said. “Somebody called and said he had gone down. I knew he was OK and his injuries weren’t life-threatening.”

Solis will sit out closing day and was not planning to ride again until the Oak Tree meet opens at Santa Anita on Sept. 27, said Scott McClellan, his agent.

“He’s fine, but it’s very painful,” he said.

Prime Ruler, the 8-5 favorite on the morning line after winning his debut last month at Del Mar by 2 1/2 lengths, drew the rail for the seven-furlong race.

Breaking from the outside in the seven-horse field will be Great Hunter, the second choice at 5-2. Second in last month’s Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar, Great Hunter is trained by Doug O’Neill, who won the race last year with Stevie Wonderboy, the colt who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before injury knocked him off the Kentucky Derby trail.

Paasch, who trains exclusively for Charles Cono, has other quality 2-year-olds in his 20-horse stable, including Principle Secret, the winner of the Best Pal, and Baltimore Drive, a son of Silver Charm.

Preferring not to run Principle Secret back against another of Cono’s horses, Paasch is pointing him toward either the Norfolk Breeders’ Cup Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 8 or the Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 7, with Prime Ruler in the mix for the other.

“Charlie wants good horses. My focus is to get him to the Breeders’ Cup and/or the Derby,” Paasch said. “At this stage, my sights are set on the Breeders’ Cup.”

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com