Sole Volante Carries Hopes of New Hope AB in Belmont

When Sole Volante goes to post June 20 in the rescheduled Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), the 3-year-old will be carrying more than the classic hopes of owners Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Andie Biancone.

Riding with the gelding will be the hopes of the aptly named New Hope AB, the nascent training and consigning entity of Marcos Arenas.

Trained by Patrick Biancone, Sole Volante—from the first crop of Gainesway stallion Karakontie , who stood the 2020 season for $10,000—has won or placed in all six starts for his connections, and his earnings of $293,310 represent a healthy return on his $20,000 purchase price as a 2-year-old. He is the least expensive of five Belmont entries who sold at Thoroughbred sales, the most expensive being Dr Post, who went for $400,000.

Sole Volante demonstrated his potential when he came from off the pace to win the Feb. 8 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs and showed similar form when he closed from sixth to win a last-out one-turn mile allowance optional claimer June 10 at Gulfstream Park.

He is listed at 9-2 on the morning line as the projected second choice in the Belmont's field of 10. Tiz the Law is the prohibitive favorite.

Arenas, a native of Mexico who worked in various positions for Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, decided to strike out on his own when he made his first foray to the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Accompanied by one of his two brothers, Arenas staked out the final two days of the auction as having yearlings that would fall within his modest budget rather than chase the elusive pricier offerings earlier in the auction.

"I have been with horses all my life and worked for Hartley/DeRenzo for 20-plus years," Arenas said of his decision to start his own operation. "I learned about pedigrees and conformation. I decided it was time to do it myself, and I opened my own consignment. I named it New Hope because I was on my own. It was a new beginning.

"I had never been in Kentucky before, and my brother and I decided to hook up a trailer and go to the sale. I decided to go the last two days and took my truck and trailer. I was checking pedigrees and was checking freshman sires because I know I don't have much money in my pocket. This horse was coming into the ring, and I looked at the horse and I saw a video of the sire, and I said, 'This horse looks like the sire.'"

Bred in Kentucky by Flaxman Holdings, Sole Volante is out of the winning Kingmambo mare Light Blow, also the dam of Canadian grade 3 winner Explode. His female family is replete with high-class stakes winners, including North American champion Main Sequence and group 1 winners Shiva, Light Shift, and Ulysses.

After reviewing the veterinary information on hand from consignor Lane's End, Arenas decided that any physical issues he saw on the reports were nothing he believed would affect Sole Volante's ability to race.

"I started bidding, and it stopped at $6,000," he recalled. "I was surprised when they brought me the ticket."

Arenas, who also bought a Tapiture  colt named Guccissimo for $3,500 who was later resold for $6,000, took his pinhook prospects to Ocala, Fla., to begin prepping them for resale as 2-year-olds.

"When they started putting the saddle on, he was very smart," he said of the Karakontie yearling. 

Arenas nominated the colt (he was subsequently gelded after being bought as a 2-year-old) to the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, but due to his modest purchase price, he did not initially fit the sale company's criteria for inclusion in the auction that is consistently oversubscribed.

Because Arenas had only one other horse in the sale and Sole Volante's pedigree was on the improve with Explode coming on at the time, Arenas prevailed upon the OBS brass to accept him.

With a two-horse consignment, Arenas was concerned about letting him go too fast during the under tack show workout, should something happen, but he also wanted to showcase his athleticism. 

"He did not have a lot of speed, but he had a lot of distance potential. At the same time, I was worried because he was (one of my two horses). He worked an eighth-mile in :10 2/5."

Leading up to the sale, trainer Biancone inspected the son of Karakontie several times and eventually bought him for $20,000, representing a more-than-threefold return for his consignor on his original purchase price.

"I was expecting a little bit more," Arenas said. "But I was happy because I got my money back plus a little bit more."

Arenas, whose New Hope AB now has a group of 14-15 horses on its ledger, said his dream of having his own consignment has come to fruition, but he hopes Sole Volante continues on the Triple Crown trail, beginning with the Belmont.

"The dream came true, and I am so excited," he said.