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Alex Solis II Feature

Alex Solis II: Bloodlines for
the Bloodstock Business

By GENE WILLIAMS

With bloodlines of his father and his maternal grandfather, Alex Solis II could be considered horse racing's version of Broadway's "born in a trunk."

Not only does he have the blood of Alex Solis, ninth all time in purse earnings for a jockey with $215.7 million through August 21, but he also has that of retired and very successful trainer Bert Sonnier.

With that background, it's only natural that Alex II -- not Jr. -- be involved with racehorses. And that's no surprise to racetrackers who watched him grow up in the barns of Bruce Headley and Richard Mandella and as a frequent winner's circle figure when his father or those trainers brought in winners.

He's not a jockey; he's not a trainer. He has branched into the business side as a bloodstock agent, part owner and general all-round good guy in racing who's now beginning to find new owners among old pals from his Father Damian High School and Cal Poly Pomona college days. "They've seen the results and want in," he says proudly.

The 24-year-old with the piercing eyes that appear to be looking as deeply into humans as they do horses took his college degree in Finance and minor in pre-veterinary medicine straight to the bloodstock business. But he knows -- and will tell you so -- that all those years hanging around all those barns and listening and soaking up knowledge from respected trainers put the foundation under him.

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for those people I grew up around," he says sincerely.

Trainer Dan Hendricks recalls the young Solis this way: "Growing up, he was always like a sponge. He would soak up everything. So when he started doing some bloodstock work, he had already done his homework just by being around."

Hendricks has been the beneficiary of some of Solis' major buys, most notably the outstanding grass runner Daytona and the fine filly Lavender Sky. Daytona was a force on the turf for a couple of years for Hendricks and Lavender Sky was stakes placed and is still in training, now with Graham Motion in Maryland. Of Lavender Sky, one of his favorites, Solis says: "I want to get one more stakes race into her and then send her to the breeding shed or sell her."

Lavender Sky was his first purchase -- while a college junior -- and it was a dicey moment for the young man. "A good friend in Kentucky, Jason Litt from Three Chimneys Farm, called and told me, ‘I've got a horse back here that I really like,'" Solis said. "I asked him how much he thought it might cost and he told me it would be anywhere from $200,000 to $250,000."

So Solis started gathering money from prospective partners. "I got $187,000 together," he said, indicating he wasn't sure he would be able to swing the sale. "I bought her for $130,000; that was a huge bargain."

Bargain -- and value -- are bywords for Solis when it comes to buying horses. Something that helps, too, is self-control, as in set your dollar limits and stick to them.

"I put a value on every horse and I don't go past that value," he said. "The more you reach, the more mistakes you make in bidding. One in 10 horses is a decent horse. Probably no more than 10 Grade I winners come out of any sale, so you have to be careful. When it goes past my top figure, it's over for me."

That's not easy, either, he says, ruefully. "It'll drive you nuts," Solis said. "More than once I've gone to a sale and come back without a horse. That's rough not to get something after putting in all that time. But you have to exercise your responsibility to yourself and your clients. If you're just buying to be buying you're not doing a good job."

Solis did admit to being willing once to bend his limit. It happened this way: "Lavender Sky's sister is Dreamalong [a runner in this month's Del Mar Oaks] and the reserve on her was $150,000. If she had gone to $160,000, I would have been there. I just had to have her, because I had her sister and I knew she was doing really well. And I always knew that residually she [Dreamalong] was going to be worth at least what I paid for her."

He paid $130,000 to get the filly.

Solis wraps up his thoughts on self-control this way: "When you know your limit, people respect that. They know you're being responsible with their money and that you actually care about that money."

The time given to the sales revolves around visiting each sale barn and studying and making one's early choices, then going back to winnow the list. Then comes the bidding. So the days roll on, and if no purchase is made, that's time that is invested with no return and that isn't what a Finance major likes.

But he's not deterred. "I love going to the yearling sales and finding one that's a gem," Solis said. "And watch them develop, and try to give them as much of a chance as possible to become a great horse."

As agent, Solis has bought upwards of 25 horses so far, and has had quite a bit of success. In addition of Daytona, Lavender Sky and Dreamalong, he has bought Valbenny, Annihilation, Lexlenos, Miss Silver Brook, Champagne Miss and The Pamplemousse, one of the surprising stars of this year's 3-year-old crop before getting hurt and going on the shelf for the year.

Mandella has been a long-time hero to Solis, and the trainer is very much aware of the kind of person the young man is. "His morals certainly seem to be in the right place, which is important in the occupation he has chosen," Mandella said. "He is persistent, he's had good luck and he's very smart.

"He's been around the business enough to have a good feel for what it takes to be successful. In short, he's the kind of person you want to see do well."