Contenders

Doug O'Neill

O'Neill, 38, is a Michigan native and currently resides in Santa Monica California with his wife and son. He began working at the track in 1986, learning under trainers Richard Mandella, Doug Peterson, and Hector Palma for eight years before going on his own in 1994. He has been the leading trainer at Fairplex and Hollywood Park, where he is currently based. He is well-known for his ability to move horses up off the claim, as he did with Fleetstreet Dancer, winning the 2003 Japan Dirt Cup at 48-1 after claiming the horse for $40,000 in 2002. He had a great 2005, winning 158 and over $9.4 million in purses to rank fifth nationally. He's been the leading trainer multiple times at Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, Del Mar, and Fairplex Park. O'Neill has yet to have a Derby starter.

Corey Nakatani

Nakatani, 35, is a native of Covina, California. He was introduced to racing at age 16 by his father, who was a Japanese-American born in a WWII internment camp and spent time at Santa Anita when it was a relocation camp. Corey began galloping and breaking horses for the legendary Johnny Longden, and began riding in 1988 at Caliente Racetrack, moving to Southern California the next year. He has been a fixture on the southern California circuit since, winning riding titles at Santa Anita, Hollywood, Del Mar and Oak Tree. While he hasn't won the Derby in his eleven tries, he has won the Kentucky Oaks twice: 1991 on Lite Light and 1996 on Pike Place Dancer. He also teamed up with trainer Craig Dollase to win the 1998 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs with Reraise. He is married to Craig Dollase's sister Michelle.

J. Paul Reddam

Reddam, a native of Ontario, Canada, has had much success since he became involved with racing in the '80's. He has a PH.D. in Philosophy, and he formed his first racing syndicates with standardbreds some 20 years ago while teaching the same at Cal State University in Los Angeles. Has 40 or so horses in training with several different trainers. His filly Elloluv has earned over $1 million, finishing second in the 2003 Breeders' Cup Distaff (GI); Traver's (GI) winner Ten Most Wanted was one of the favorites for Derby 129. Reddam currently lives in Laguna Beach, CA and is the President of Cash Call, a consumer loan company. He also bought 75% of Wilko, the 2004 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) champ, in October, 2004.

Vessels Stallion Farm (CA)

Frank “Scoop” Vessels III, owner of Vessels Stallion Farm, is unique in that he ranks simultaneously among the nation’s top leading breeders in both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse industries. He has a life-long history of horseracing: his grandfather built California's first quarter horse track and subsequently started the Quarter Horse breeding farm. Scoop started the current Vessels farm in the early 1980s, first with Quarter Horses and then Thoroughbreds some ten years later. In addition to his horseracing ventures, he is a six-time winner of the Baja Peninsula off-road races and is one of the originators of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. His Bosnal, California farm stands the top racing Quarter horse stallion in the country, First Down Dash, as well as the leading Thoroughbred sire in the West Coast, In Excess (IRE).

Notional is by In Excess (IRE), California's leading sire in 2002 and 2003. He is represented by 47 stakes winners to date, including 2006 Grade One winner Romance is Diane, French 1,000 Guineas (GI) winner Musical Chimes, Indiana Derby (GIII) winner Excessivepleasure, and Icantgoforthat, Tulsa, Just Too Too, Excess Summer and millionaires Texcess and Valentine's Dancer. He is also the sire of Graded stakes winners Indian Charlie, winner of the Santa Anita Derby (GI) and third in the 1998 Kentucky Derby (GI), Romanceishope, Icecoldbeeratreds and Above Perfection. In his racing career, In Excess won 11 of 25 starts, including the Suburban (GI) (where he set a new track record of 1:58.33 for 1 1/4 miles), Metropolitan Handicap (GI), Woodward (GI) and Whitney Handicap (GI), all in 1992, when he was runner-up for the Eclipse Award. Though he was an excellent racehorse on the dirt, he was actually bred to like the grass, and was actually a two-time Grade Three winner on the lawn. His offspring have also performed well on both surfaces.

Notional's dam, Truly Blessed, raced just four times, winning once. Both of her foals to race have won, the other being Notional's 4-year-old full sister Excessivelyblessed. Truly Blessed is by French Deputy, who also had a brief career, but won the one mile Jerome Handicap (GII) and posted the highest Beyer Speed Figure (119), of any 3-year-old in 1995. Truly Blessed is part of a fairly non-descript group of siblings, but her half-sister Helen D. did produce a champion 3-year-old filly in Argentina. Interestingly, Notional is inbred 4x4 to his tail female fourth dam, La Morlaye, also the granddam of Siberian Express, Notional's grandsire. Dosage Index: 2.33. - by Mark Hoard

Coming Derby Week