Ruler ices Belmont rivals

George and Lori Hall's RULER ON ICE (Roman Ruler) was the last of the $1

million Belmont S. (G1) contenders to arrive at Belmont Park, stepping off the

van Saturday morning, but the chestnut was first across the wire of the "Test of

the Champion" while wearing blinkers for the first time in his career.

"He wouldn't grow up," trainer Kelly Breen explained the decision to

equip Ruler on Ice with blinkers for the first time in the Belmont.

"(Blinkers) was part of the maturity. He didn't mature as fast as we

wanted to. He's already a gelding so we can't castrate him again, so we

put blinkers on.

"The first time out of the gate, Jose was on him. He was still

goofing off and didn't break great. Last week, he broke right and it's

like sometimes, the bulb just goes on. It was a perfect storm of things

going right, and that's how we got here."

While Ruler on Ice got the perfect trip in the Belmont beneath jockey

Jose Valdivia Jr., Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux [Brz]) was not so

lucky.

The Kentucky Derby (G1) hero was squeezed between Monzon (Thunder Gulch) and Mucho Macho Man (Macho Uno)

not long after the gates opened. The chestnut clipped heels and nearly

threw jockey John Velazquez to the sloppy, sealed

track. The veteran rider managed to stay aboard and quickly got his feet back in

the stirrups, but the pair found themselves running well back in last as Shackleford

(Forestry) proceeded straight to the front through splits of :23 4/5, :49, 1:14 2/5 and 1:39 4/5.

Ruler on Ice would not be denied, though. The gelding dug deep to claim the

three-quarter length victory over a rail-riding Stay Thirsty in a final time of 2:30 4/5 for the 1 1/2-mile

event. A crowd of 55,779 showed up to watch the 24-1 third longest shot on the

board earn his first stakes triumph.

"Kelly said, we've got the blinkers on him and it didn't look like

there was that much speed in there, so put him into the race and just

hope for the best," Valdivia explained his pre-race instructions. "At

the half-mile pole, I was hearing whips cracking behind me and I could

hear guys chirping to their horses, and all I'm doing is picking up the

tempo. With a half-mile remaining, I still felt like I have a lot of

horse under me.

"Turning for home, everything started going in slow motion. At the

sixteenth pole, I thought, 'This is the true Test of the Champion.' It's

a great feeling.

"I have to thank the connections, George and Lori Hall and Kelly. I

started working this horse this winter. I told Kelly that I liked him so

much, I was going to freeze my butt off to come and work him every

morning. He acts like he's something special, and I don't think we've

gotten to the bottom of him yet."

George Hall was quick to praise both horse and jockey after the race.

"The funny thing about this horse is that Jose would always come back

and say he was goofing off, but he wasn't really tired," he said. "After the (Federico) Tesio, we figured, what better race to come

back than the Belmont. Jose did exactly what we asked him to do and

stayed close to the lead.

"You could see after the race, (Ruler on Ice) wanted to do another

victory lap. I think he's a much better horse than the odds showed, and

he proved it today."

Brilliant Speed followed Stay Thirsty under the wire by 1 1/2

lengths, with Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro (Mineshaft) another 5 1/4

lengths back in fourth.

"The horse ran a super race. We were pleased," trainer Todd Pletcher

praised Stay Thirsty. "Of course, we would have loved to win this race.

We are very proud of him. It was a great effort."

"I have to give credit to the winner. He was impressive. He never gave up,"

said Javier Castellano, who piloted Stay Thirsty in the Belmont. "The way the

race developed, Shackleford took the lead and the winner was second or third and

we tried to stay with him. My horse responded so well today. I was very happy

for him. He gave everything he had today. I couldn't ask anything more from

him."

Shackleford, Animal Kingdom, Mucho

Macho Man, Santiva (Giant's Causeway), Monzon, Master of Hounds (Kingmambo),

Prime Cut (Bernstein) and Isn't He Perfect (Pleasantly Perfect) completed the

order under the wire.

Ruler on Ice was worth $51.50, $26 and $13.60 and keyed the

$928 exacta, $8,268 trifecta and lucrative $74,052 superfecta (3-2-5-6). Stay

Thirsty gave back $19.40 and $10.80 as the 16-1 eighth pick, while Brilliant

Speed paid $7.90 as the 10-1 sixth choice. The Brooklyn/Belmont double was worth

$$434 to anyone holding a ticket with Brooklyn H. (G2) winner Birdrun

(Birdstone) and the Belmont victor.

Ruler on Ice began his career at Monmouth Park last September,

running fifth in a 5 1/2-furlong event on a fast track, and it wasn't until he

encountered a sloppy, sealed track next out while going six furlongs at Delaware

Park that he broke his maiden by a head. The chestnut wouldn't reappear in

competition for four months, showing up to run second in an optional claimer at

Aqueduct on February 4. He added an allowance victory to his scorecard just 18

days later at Parx Racing, then traveled to New Mexico to place third in the

Sunland Derby (G3).

The sophomore showed up on Kentucky Derby Day, but was running

at Pimlico in the Federico Tesio S. Ruler on Ice rallied to be second on that

day, and entered the Belmont off that race looking for his first stakes win.

"We were disappointed in the Tesio because we were

looking at the Preakness, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise,"

Breen said. "Ever since he ran at Sunland Park, he came back with low

red blood count and it showed in the stall and it showed in the feed

tub. It took a little time to get back to normal. After the Tesio, I

thought he came back from the race somewhat lethargic.

"All of the sudden the last two weeks his red blood

count was starting to come up and this week, he had the best blood

report he's had in the past few months, so I said, 'It's a go.' Going

into the race, we felt his blood had to be better for us to run."