A charity golf tournament seems an unlikely avenue into horse racing, but without such an event, Michele Arthur and Ruben Islas wouldn’t be dreaming of the Kentucky Derby — a dream that could be fulfilled after Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby.
Not that Arthur was thinking about either Derby eight years ago when she bid $500 for a behind-the-scenes tour of Santa Anita or Del Mar. She wasn’t even thinking about owning a horse.
All she knew was one of the auction items at the tournament she helped found to honor a murdered friend wasn’t getting any attention, and she liked horses as a girl, so why not?
She had no idea what that $500 would buy her and, eventually, Islas.
A San Diego native and resident, Arthur chose to skip the drive to Arcadia and wait for the short trip to Del Mar. When it came time to go, she asked Islas, her longtime friend and husband’s business partner, if he wanted to come along.
“Sure, yeah, I love horses,” said Islas, who was born in Los Angeles but grew up in San Diego and still lives there.
When the tour ended, Arthur and Islas were introduced to a trainer, Mike Pender, who offered them a chance to buy a half-interest in an unraced 2-year-old for $25,000.
Arthur’s husband quickly said no. But not Arthur and Islas.
“Come on, Michele, you’re with me, right?” Islas said.
“Absolutely,” Arthur said.
And so began their journey as what Islas calls “horse parents” — a journey that has taken them to the brink of starting a horse in the world’s most famous horse race.
“It is so close,” Islas said this week.
The two friends and their spouses were at Churchill Downs last year, but only as spectators. They were, however, in the winner’s circle on the day before the Derby after the Unbridled Sidney Stakes with their greatest success story thus far: Queen Maxima, a filly they bought for $40,000 who has now earned more than $630,000. They stayed for the Derby and vowed to return (and not just with Queen Maxima, who likely will be in the same race again May 1).
“It’s funny,” Islas said, “because after a couple drinks I looked at Mike Pender (now their bloodstock agent) and I said, ‘I don’t know what you’re going to do, but you’re going to get us to the Kentucky Derby next year.’ And here we are.”
Intrepido and jockey Hector I. Berrios, left, finish ahead of Deseert Gate (Juan Hernandez), middle, and Plutarch (Kazushi Kimura), right, to win the Grade I, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 4.
(Benoit Photo)
Said Arthur: “Not quite. Almost.”
In reality, they already had their “almost” Derby horse. Eighteen days earlier, Pender had convinced Arthur and Islas to go beyond the $300,000 limit they set to buy a 2-year-old son of Maximus Mischief for $385,000 at a sale in Ocala, Fla.
“He said, ‘Ruben, I’m telling you, this is the one,’” Islas said. “I’m a sucker.”
Arthur wanted to name the horse Intrepid but the name was taken. Islas suggested an alternative.
“I always make that joke that your Spanish teacher probably told you that ropa don’t mean rope and sopa don’t mean soap? Well, guess what: Intrepido means intrepid. So I put an ‘o’ on the end of it.”
Six months ago, Arthur and Islas could realistically dream of Kentucky after Intrepido won the Grade 1 American Pharoah at Santa Anita. But he finished fifth after a poor start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar and was second in his only start as a 3-year-old, two months ago in the Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita.
Given the points system used to determine starters in the Kentucky Derby, Intrepido almost certainly needs to finish first or second Saturday at Santa Anita. Third place would leave him uncomfortably close to the bubble, likely needing some defections.
“I’m on pins and needles,” said Islas, who owns 11 horses with Arthur and three others separately. “But I’m really kind of enjoying the ride. I was explaining to someone, I usually control everything in my life, but it’s so entertaining to control none of it, you know?”
Islas, 57, and Arthur’s husband own a real estate development company, and Islas also makes movies (“Border Hunters” reached the top 10 on Netflix late last year). Arthur, who is involved in philanthropy and serves on the board of directors for the San Diego Symphony, will turn 60 just a few days after the Kentucky Derby.
“It’d be the ultimate 60th birthday present, right?” she said. “But at the same time it’s so far away. So, yeah, I’m nervous.”
Intrepido, trained by Jeff Mullins, is the co-third choice at 7-2 in the field of seven for the Santa Anita Derby, which as the 10th of 12 races Saturday has a post time of 4:46 p.m. (live on Peacock and FanDuel TV).
Bob Baffert trains the two favorites, San Felipe winner Potente (2-1) and Cherokee Nation (5-2), whose lone career win came in a maiden race in late February but produced the fastest Beyer Speed Figure (100) in the field. All the horses except Potente likely need to finish first or second to have a chance of getting into the Kentucky Derby starting gate, though Robusta, the San Felipe runner-up, would have an outside chance by finishing third.
Baffert also has two fillies in Saturday’s Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks, Forced Entry (4-1) and French Blue (5-1), as does Michael McCarthy, who won last year’s Santa Anita Derby with Journalism. McCarthy will start odds-on favorite Meaning (3-5) as well as Brooklyn Blonde (6-1).
There are three other stakes races Saturday, including the race after the Derby, the Monrovia, with Queen Maxima heavily favored to win for the second straight year for Arthur and Islas.
This time they’d like to make it a daily double.
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