MICHELE ARTHUR (DUTCH GIRL HOLDINGS LLC) & RUBEN ISLAS (IRVING VENTURES LLC) - QUEEN MAXIMA

WORDS - BILL HELLER

Michele and her husband Jules Arthur, Ruben Islas and former trainer/bloodstock agent Mike Pender have formed a strong collaboration.

Michele was born in San Diego, but spent a year and a half with her family in the Netherlands and visits them annually: "My parents emigrated to the U.S. separately in their 20s. They spoke Dutch to us. We spoke back in English."

Her Dutch-Indonesian parents met at a San Diego Dutch Club. Her father, Henri Veerman, served in the Dutch navy and was invited to work in local shipyards. He later became a civil servant. She named her stable Dutch Girl Holdings LLC.

She fell deeply in love with horses at a very early age: "Every little girl loves horses. When I was very little, my parents used to take me to an equestrian stable. I had this one horse called Eventide. My whole bedroom was filled with horse statues, every coffee-table-sized horse book ever written and an encyclopedia about horses."

Her husband, Jules, lived in Great Britain, where his grandparents took him to watch racing. He was raised just 12 miles east of Newmarket. "It's the home of horse racing," Jules said. He made a career as a chartered surveyor in real estate. "When I came over here, I started as a commercial real estate broker. Michele is a horse partner with my real estate partner, Ruben Islas."

Michele and Jules met on a blind date. "I was introduced by my aunt," he said. "It was love at first sight 35 years ago. I wanted to marry her. At the end of our blind date, we knew we were destined to be together. That's a rare occurrence." So is his partnership in the real estate business, Logan Capital Advisors, with Ruben Islas, a movie writer, director and producer with deep ties to Mexico. Islas directed the movie Border Hunters, which aired recently on Netflix and has received tremendous reviews. "My family members are from Guadalajara," Islas said. "We all had history with horses. That was in Mexico. I grew up very poor in San Diego's Logan Heights."

Islas went to Del Mar for the first time when he was 19: "I completely fell in love with the whole vibe. I saw a guy drive up in a Rolls Royce. He had a really well-fitting Navy blazer on him. The guy just looked sharp. When I was in the crowd, I recognized him in the winner's circle. I said, 'I want to be that guy.'"

He may be better than that guy. Islas is a founding partner and CEO of Logan Capital Advisors, which has been involved in affordable housing since 1994. He is an expert in tax- exempt bond financing and low-income housing tax credits, as evidenced by more than 3,400 low-income apartment units through California, Colorado and New Mexico.

He worked hard to become adept in his two careers: housing and the arts. He graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in Dramatic Literature and also attended Queens College and St. John's University. He is the founder of Grandave Capital, a production company focused on creating films that highlight Latino stories and perspectives.

Queen Maxima and jockey Juan Hernandez, outruns Princesa Moche and Mirco Demuro to win the 2026 Las Cienegas Stakes at Santa Anita Park.

Islas and Michele became horse partners in 2018 thanks to a wonderful bit of serendipity by Michele: "I was doing a charity auction for one of my dear friends who had passed. Somebody helped me procure silent auction items. One was to spend time with a trainer on the backstretch. It wasn't getting the price it should have. I bought it for $500. I thought it would be fun to go behind the scenes. Once you go back there, you realize how wonderfully these horses are taken care of. They're doing what they love. That was everything to me. I was standing there with my husband and Ruben. I just wanted to be a part of it."

The trainer they met was Mike Pender. It changed their lives.

Pender's training career was in a tailspin. A former schoolteacher with a master's degree in psychology, Pender had lost his principal owner, B. J. Wright in July 2014: "He had cancer and died. We were just getting started. I bought Jeronimo and Ultimate Eagle for him. When he died, things got ugly. I went through a rough patch."

Then he lost his trainer's license and became a bloodstock agent. "When I came out of the fog, they were there," Pender said. "I called Michele and said, "I want to buy you guys a couple of horses". She said, "Call Ruben. If he's interested, I'm interested."

He was: "I told Michele to have faith in this guy. We put our money together and went shopping." Pender recommended Queen Maxima, who is trained by Jeff Mullins. They bought the five- year-old mare for $40,000 as a two-year-old and celebrated her three Gr.3 victories in the Monrovia Stakes by 44 lengths at Santa Anita, the Unbridled Sydney Stakes by 3½ lengths at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby weekend and the Las Ciengas Stakes by a half-length as the 2/5 favorite January 11 back at Santa Anita.

ABOVE: Ruben Islas (in all black), Michele Arthur, and husband Jules (in baseball cap), celebrate with jockey Hector Berrios after Intrepido's victory in the 2025 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita Park.

Islas was on hand for her score in the Unbridled Sydney: "I was at Churchill Downs the morning before my horse was going to run on Oaks Day. I ordered an espresso martini. Michele had made these lapel pins. This older gentleman two seats from me, asked, "Do you own Queen Maxima?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Son, do you have any idea how lucky you are to be sitting here with a horse running on Oaks Day? I'm going to bet on her." Good decision. She won easily at 2/1.

Add that to Islas' latest movie on Netflix and another stakes victory by Queen Maxima in January. "We're on such a run," Islas said. "My daughter said to me, Do you know you're living five or six people's dreams? It's just an amazing run."

Pender called again and asked, "Can we go up to $300,000?" Islas said okay, and then he kept saying okay, telling Pender he'd make up the difference. They got the colt for $385,000. "Thank God," Islas said. That's because Intrepido captured the Gr.3 American Pharoah Stakes and finished a slow starting fifth in the Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He is on the Derby Trail.

It could get even better on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs with their three-year-old ridgling Intrepido, a $385,000 two-year-old purchase highly recommended by Pender and also trained by Mullins. "Mike (Pender) called me up," Islas explained. He said, "I've never seen a horse like this." After consulting with his partner Michele, they set their limit on Intrepido at $200,000. When the bidding got higher, Pender called again and asked, “Can we go up to $300,000?”

Islas said okay, and then he kept saying okay, telling Pender he’d make up the difference. They got the colt for $385,000.

“Thank God,” Islas said. That’s because Intrepido captured the Gr.3 American Pharoah Stakes and finished a slow starting fifth in the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He is on the Derby Trail.

The Kentucky Derby will be run on May 2. "My birthday is May 5," Michele said.

Regardless of how Queen Maxima and Intrepido perform this year, the Arthurs have already changed Pender's life: "I don't think it's a reach. I had pretty much written off horse racing for myself. I might have just drifted off into oblivion. They were very instrumental in bringing me back to life.”