2011 Belmont Stakes Winner: Everything You Need to Know About Ruler on Ice

If you were among the ones who looking at Ruler On Ice thought it was Pants On Fire, raise your hand. Maybe it was because Ruler On Ice, is owned by George and Lori Hill, owners of Kentucky Derby starter Pants On Fire.

Ruler on Ice is trained by Kelly J. Breen and was ridden to victory by Peruvian Jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. For all three of his connections, this was their first Triple Crown race win.

When you start to look back now on Ruler On Ice, you start making sense on how he was able to pull off this upset.

On the five races prior to the Belmont Stakes, Ruler On Ice had been a consistent horse. He had scored two wins, two second-places and one third-place.

That third place came in the Grade 3 Sunland Derby two races prior to the Belmont, where after running five-wide at the quarter pole he closed well and finished behind Kentucky Derby starter Twice The Appeal and Preakness Stakes third-place finisher Astrology.

After that, his connections thought they had a shot at winning the Derby. So Ruler On Ice was entered in the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago. But since he did not have enough earnings he was left out of the starters list.

Since he was scheduled to run in the Derby, and was training for it, when he couldn’t make the field he was entered to run in the Federico Tesio Stakes on May 7. In this race, Ruler On Ice, after being wide again at the quarter pole, he closed ground and finished second behind Concealed Identity.

The only concerns prior to the Belmont could be made from the Beyer Figures thus far. His best figure was an 86 in the Sunland Derby, and that was lower than most of the top contenders in the Belmont.

Ruler On Ice is a son of Roman Ruler in Champagne Glow by Saratoga Six. His pedigree is a mix of brilliance and stamina.

Adding this to the fact, that on his last three races before the Belmont Stakes he was closing ground quickly, running 1 1/16 miles twice and 1 1/8 miles once, there were thoughts and indications that he actually might like the Belmont Stakes 1 1/2-mile distance and make a move forward.

He trained well after the Federico Tesio, with a highlight five-furlong workout in 1:00 flat on May 27 at Monthmouth Park, which was the best of 10 workouts that day at that distance, and it showed in the Belmont how good a shape he was in.

He was still very active after the race was over and didn’t show the common signs of wear and tear that Belmont Stakes runners commonly display.

There will still be questions about Ruler On Ice’s possibilities going forward, and expectation on where he will run next. But one thing is for sure, he has arrived and we all know what he is capable of.