Paul Reddam hopes his third time at the Kentucky Derby will be the charm.
The owner of Anaheim-based mortgage and consumer lender CashCall Inc. also counts Santa Anita Derby winner I’ll Have Another in his fold. The thoroughbred’s win there earlier this month gave Reddam a third shot at the Run for the Roses—an opportunity he’ll take when the flag goes up on horse racing’s most storied event May 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
Reddam likes his chances after I’ll Have Another surprised the field and edged out favorite Creative Cause to claim the $750,000 purse at Santa Anita.
“I think he has as good a chance as anyone,” Reddam said. “Everyone thinks they can win, but I wouldn’t trade places with anyone.”
Long-Distance Runners
I’ll Have Another counts long-distance runners in his bloodlines, a pedigree that bodes well for the Kentucky Derby’s mile-and-a-quarter route—an eighth of a mile longer than the recent run at Santa Anita.
The horse has beaten long odds to get this far, but Kentucky Derby handicappers are taking a fresh look.
I’ll Have Another was among the upper tier of favorites late last week.
Quite an ascendance for a colt Reddam purchased for a mere $35,000 about a year ago from Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. in Florida in a 2-year-old in training sale. It’s not uncommon for horses to be sold in the mid to high six figures there.
Trainer Dennis O’Neill’s brother, Doug, scouted I’ll Have Another for Reddam, who counts some 25 race horses and 50 broodmares and babies in his stable.
He’s spent a lot more and gotten a lot less on other horses.
“I’ve bought horses for $500,000 and $600,000 before and many didn’t amount to $35,000,” Reddam said. “There’s a lot of luck involved.”
Long Shot
I’ll Have Another appears to have some on its side. He was a 43-1 long shot in February’s $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita and blew past the field, setting up an intriguing story line before the Santa Anita Derby, the pre-eminent race on the West Coast.
The horse had $151,000 in earnings going into the Santa Anita Derby and needed more to guarantee a start in the big race in Kentucky, which has a maximum of 20 spots. That meant a finish of no worse than second at Santa Anita.
“That’s what, in part, made it so exciting,” said Reddam.
Reddam joined family members and colleagues from CashCall in a raucous scene in the winners circle at Santa Anita.
He’s no stranger to victory parties, with some big wins to his credit, but also knows the sting of defeat. He saw two entries finish out of the money in the Kentucky Derby one year. In 2003 he brought Ten Most Wanted to the Kentucky Derby as the second favorite only to see him finish ninth.
Big Win
Reddam got a big win at Churchill Downs in 2006, when his Red Rocks captured the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf race. In 2004, his 2-year-old colt Wilko pulled off an upset in the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Reddam holds this month’s victory at Santa Anita Park above the rest though.
“As far as prestige and excitement, winning the Santa Anita Derby was at the top,” said Reddam, who created and sold Costa Mesa-based Ditech.com in the 1990s to what’s was then GMAC, now Ally Financial.
Reddam later started CashCall, which projects more than $600 million in annual revenue this year.
Workers
Some 400 of CashCall’s 1,300 employees shared the moment with Reddam in the winner’s circle, chanting his horse’s name in a wild celebration.
Reddam hired buses to get his employees to Santa Anita in Arcadia, about 30 miles from the company’s headquarters.
They’ll be welcome at the Kentucky Derby but will have to find their own transportation.
“I’ll find them tickets as long as they find their way there,” he said.
The big race is known for its mint juleps—a slug of Kentucky whiskey sweetened up with sugar cubes and garnished with a sprig of mint.
I’ll Have Another’s name seems to fit that scene—its sounds as though it might have been hatched on a barstool.
Reddam said it was a different sort of indulgence that gave the horse it’s name—it’s the reply he often gives his wife when she asks if he wants another cookie.
“We kind of made a joke about it,” he said.
