I’ll Have Another, owned by Windsor, Ontario native J. Paul Reddam, captured the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby with an off-the-pace rally engineered by jockey Mario Gutierrez on Saturday.
I’ll Have Another left from post 19 in the 1-1/4 mile classic and Gutierrez, who raced at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver for six years, quickly hustled his mount into a comfortable stalking position, sitting seventh, as Bodemeister led the field into the first turn.
Bodemeister posted swift fractions of :22.32, :45.39, 1:09.80, and 1:35.19 as I’ll Have Another closed into fourth position, less than four lengths from the leader. I’ll Have Another was urged into second as Bodemeister turned for home and it took Gutierrez and his chestnut colt the length of the stretch to finally reel in the pace-setter to score a length and a half victory.
I’ll Have Another, trained by Doug O’Neill, paid $32.60, $13.80 and $9 in front of a record crowd of 165,307. Bodemeister, ridden by Mike Smith and trained by Bob Baffert, returned $6.20 and $5.60. Dullahan, ridden by Kent Desormeaux for trainer Dale Romans, paid $7.20 to show.
Reddam, who was introduced to horse racing by a friend who worked as a Standardbred groom at Windsor Raceway, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Windsor and a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Toronto. He completed his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Southern California. He continues to reside in California.
The owner, as expected, was philsophical in victory.
“I never really dreamed I would be in a position to own racehorses, but I got very lucky in my life and it happened,” said Reddam, president and founder of CashCall Inc. “I guess I’m still lucky.”
The Derby was only the third start of the campaign for I’ll Have Another, but Reddam was expecting a peak performance.
“We knew we had a good horse, and we wanted to make sure he was fresh because the Triple Crown is a gamble and it looks like it paid off,” said Reddam.
The 25-year-old Gutierrez learned the art of race riding from his father, Mario Sr., a quarter horse jockey in his native Mexico.
“I always wanted to be like my dad,” said an elated Gutierrez. “I asked him to teach me…part of growing up was learning how to ride horses.”
The determined Gutierrez, who won two riding titles at Hastings before moving his tack to California this year, was relentless through the stretch on the hard-trying colt.
“I know my horse was reaching every single step of the way, but I wasn’t going to stop riding until I was passing the wire,” he said. “That is when the horse race is finished.”
Reddam, Gutierrez and I’ll Have Another will continue their Triple Crown run in the Preakness Stakes on May 19, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
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