J. Paul Reddam Thoroughbred Owner
Wednesday October 11, 2006
As one of the most successful Thoroughbred owners of 2006, Canadian-born and California-based J. Paul Reddam faces the possibility in less than a month of having as many as six runners in this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships.
From a modest beginning as a harness racing syndicator, the former Cal State - Los Angeles philosophy professor entered the world of Thoroughbred racing with a 1988 claimer named Ocean Warrior and has built an operation that counts among its assets 40 Thoroughbreds distributed among trainers Craig Dollase, Doug O'Neill, Mark Hennig, Ben Cecil, and Jeremy Noseda. As a breeder, he owns a band of 20 broodmares maintained at Vessels Stallion Farm (California) and Kingswood (Kentucky) and 10 Standardbreds based at Windsor Raceway and Sacramento's Cal-Expo.
In addition to his success in academia, Reddam's resume also includes founding Ditech.com, a pioneer in the world of e-commerce that he sold to General Motors in 1999, and currently serving as president of Cash Call, a California-based online consumer loan company.
The roster of recent runners campaigned -- in full and in part -- in Reddam's name includes Travers Stakes and Super Derby winner Ten Most Wanted, Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion Wilko, and Elloluv - who finished a game second to Adoration in the 2003 Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Reddam's possibles for next month's BC celebration includes Juvenile upstart Great Hunter - runaway winner of Saturday's Lane's End Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland - Distaffer Sharp Lisa, Cash Included (Juvenile Fillies), Liquidity (Juvenile), Red Rocks (Turf), and Dancing Edie (Filly and Mare Turf).
Lexington, KY:
Tell us some of the horses, with prices, you tried to buy and couldn't.
Reddam:
I tried to buy Lost in the Fog for $2 million after his second start – no sale! I tried to buy a minority of Tapit before the Derby at a $10 million valuation, but this didn’t happen, either. I thought he had stallion potential. In June, I tried to buy Vacare for $500k, but I didn’t offer enough. The owners were right not to sell; she will run Saturday in the QEII and should be one of the favorites.
New York, NY:
Regarding all the races in this BC tournament, could you name a few horses that will go overlooked by the public in your opinion and why? We appreciate you stopping by.
Reddam:
One I can think of right away is Red Rocks, who I have coming over to run in the Turf if everything continues to go right for him. He’ll be overlooked because he hasn’t won a big race. He only has European form, and he is three years old running against older horses. I like him because he was second in a race this summer to Rail Link, who just won the Arc de Triomphe, which is the biggest race in Europe. A repeat of that performance would make him very competitive at about 20-1. I would also give David Junior a shot in the Classic. He will be a long price because he has only run on turf and never in America. However, he is by Pleasant Tap, a dirt sire, and won a $5-million dollar race in Dubai this spring. Bernardini will be bet off the board, so this is what will give David Junior value. Most of the turf writers will lock onto Bernardini, saying he can’t lose, which is what they always do. David Junior is trained by Brian Meehan, who also trains Red Rocks and is an excellent trainer based in England.
To read the complete transcript of this chat, along with many others, check out Best of Talkin’ Horses.
Best of Talkin’ Horses features provocative “chats” with some of Thoroughbred racing’s most prominent names. Adapted from “Talkin’ Horses,” the popular weekly online chat series hosted by Bloodhorse.com, this edited collection provides additional insights by Ron Mitchell, editor and moderator of “Talkin’ Horses."
Editor's Note: BloodHorse.com moderators retain editorial control over Talkin' Horses discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests; guests may decline to answer questions. Opinions expressed by guests of Talkin' Horses are those of the guest and do not represent the opinions of Blood-Horse Publications, its employees, associates, or affiliated organizations. Guests, dates, and times of Talkin' Horses discussions are subject to change.