Tales from the Crib: Pavlovian

Apr 09, 2026 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Baby Pavlovian looked chestnut like his mom, Mandy's Grace (Photo courtesy of Kasey Bennett/Ocean Breeze Ranch)

Pavlovian will try to make the owner/trainer tandem of J. Paul Reddam and Doug O’Neill one of the most successful in Kentucky Derby (G1) history. Already two-time winners of the Run for the Roses, courtesy of I’ll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016), Reddam and O’Neill would enter rarefied territory with a third trophy.

O’Neill would join Hall of Fame trainers “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons and Max Hirsch in a tie for third on the all-time list, behind Ben Jones and Bob Baffert (who have six Derby wins apiece) and “Derby Dick” Thompson and D. Wayne Lukas (four each).

A third Derby win for Reddam would likewise move him up into a joint third in the owners’ category alongside William Woodward’s legendary Belair Stud. Only Calumet Farm (with a record eight Derby victories) and Col. E.R. Bradley (four) have more.

But a win by Pavlovian would be special to Reddam for another reason. Unlike I’ll Have Another and Nyquist, who were both purchased at two-year-olds in training sales, Pavlovian is a California homebred nurtured at Reddam’s own Ocean Breeze Ranch north of San Diego.

Both of Pavlovian’s parents were Reddam acquisitions trained by O’Neill. His sire, $2 million-earner Pavel, was named after hockey player Pavel Datsyuk. That’s a theme for a number of Reddam runners, by way of tribute to his beloved Detroit Red Wings. Champion Nyquist, the most famous example, is the namesake of Gustav Nyquist.

Pavel, unlike the equine Nyquist, was a late bloomer on the racetrack. He scored his signature win as a four-year-old in the 2018 Stephen Foster H. (G1) at Churchill Downs.

While Pavel didn’t begin his racing career until the summer of his three-year-old season, well past the Triple Crown trail, his pedigree was filled with classic influences.

Pavel is the son of Creative Cause, one of I’ll Have Another’s rivals on the 2012 Triple Crown trail. Although Creative Cause beat I’ll Have Another in the Best Pal (G2) during their juvenile days in 2011, the tables were turned at three. I’ll Have Another outdueled Creative Cause in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and improved to defeat him by bigger margins in the classics. Creative Cause wound up fifth in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness (G1).

Ironically, Creative Cause’s full brother, Destin, was an old rival of Reddam’s other Derby champion, Nyquist. Destin won the 2016 Tampa Bay Derby (G2), in track-record time at that point, before finishing sixth behind Nyquist in the Kentucky Derby. Destin’s most memorable performance was a near-miss in the Belmont (G1).

Pavel has further classic connections through his dam (mother), Mons Venus. She is by champion Maria’s Mon, who sired Derby winners Monarchos (2001) and Super Saver (2010).

Pavel’s son, current hopeful Pavlovian, likewise has a Derby theme running through his own mother, Mandy’s Grace. Named after the daughter of venerable turf writer and racing historian Steve Haskin, she descends from generations of Derby combatants.

Mandy’s Grace is a daughter of Bellamy Road, the 2005 Derby favorite after his stunning, 17 1/2-length conquest of the Wood Memorial (G1). Bellamy Road was unable to duplicate that effort on the first Saturday in May, tiring to seventh behind the surprising Giacomo at Churchill Downs.

Bellamy Road was continuing the Derby disappointments of his sire, Concerto, and grandsire, Chief’s Crown. Concerto, a homebred for George Steinbrenner’s Kinsman Farm, checked in ninth in the 1997 Derby. Chief’s Crown, the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) champion, was a distant third as the favorite in the 1985 Derby.

Mandy’s Grace is out of the multiple Grade 2-winning Magicalmysterycat, a mare by supersire Storm Cat. Interestingly, Storm Cat is also Pavlovian’s ancestor in the direct male line, via his great son Giant’s Causeway, the “Iron Horse,” who sired Creative Cause.

Thus, Pavlovian’s pedigree carries a duplication of Storm Cat, well known for transmitting his brilliance along with a dash of temperament. Indications are that Pavlovian has inherited both of those dimensions.

Newborn Pavlovian on April 8, 2023 (Photo courtesy of Kasey Bennett/Ocean Breeze Ranch)

“Pavlovian has always had a quirky personality,” said Kasey Bennett, the manager of Reddam’s Ocean Breeze Ranch.

“The mare (Mandy’s Grace) is one of those horses that would be as sweet as could be out in pasture, but if you pet her the wrong way, or did something she did not agree with, she would be very quick to let you know it!

“Pavlovian was a bit of the same way as a youngster. Bold, outgoing, and quick to greet you in pasture, but also a temper that would come out of nowhere!”

As you can see from his baby pictures, Pavlovian initially appeared to be a chestnut like his mom. But eventually his coat turned gray, like his dad, Pavel, and grandad Creative Cause.

Mandy's Grace nuzzles Kasey Bennett's son as he pets baby Pavlovian (Photo courtesy of Kasey Bennett/Ocean Breeze Ranch)

Pavlovian went to school in Utah, where he learned his early lessons under the tutelage of John Brocklebank, a specialist in preparing youngsters for the racetrack. The colt was precocious enough to graduate to O’Neill’s Southern California barn last spring.

Ready to debut at Santa Anita May 25, Pavlovian looked a little green when cutting the corner into the stretch to rally for second. But it was a very promising effort, in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden, from a colt who wanted to run longer. Pavlovian duly won next time out, closing strongly in a five-furlong maiden to prevail by a cozy half-length.

Up in class for the Best Pal (G3) at Del Mar – the race won by grandsire Creative Cause – Pavlovian was not only facing winners. He was also venturing outside of California-bred company for the first time. Although he never got near to challenging the heavily favored winner, Desert Gate, Pavlovian outperformed his 12-1 odds by getting up for second.

Returning to state-restricted races, Pavlovian endured a losing streak. Perhaps his most frustrating experience came in the Golden State Juvenile S. on Breeders’ Cup “Future Stars Friday,” when he leaped up at the start, came down awkwardly, unseated his rider, and eliminated himself from the race. In his previous start, Pavlovian had been a fine runner-up to the eventual Golden State winner, Ocean Bear, leaving a sense of what-might-have been in their stakes rematch.

O’Neill then experimented with a couple of equipment changes, to no avail, as he still didn’t break too well. Even so, his loss in the Cal Cup Derby was instructive – disengaged when last on the backstretch before showing some interest in third, Pavlovian needing help to focus.

What ended up working was putting the blinkers back on, switching to a new jockey in Edwin Maldonado, and shipping out of town. Pavlovian responded to deliver a new career high in the Sunland Park Derby. Leaving the gate alertly, he showed newfound tactical speed to attend front-running favorite Express Kid and nip him at the wire.

It was a great weekend for our own Bellamy Road when grandson Pavlovian won the Sunland Park Derby!

This victory earned Pavlovian 20 points on the Road to the @KentuckyDerby, putting him in the top 10 on the leaderboard. pic.twitter.com/hDbkH7MkCm

— Old Friends (@Oldfriendsfarm) February 18, 2026

Pavlovian took another leap forward in the 1 3/16-mile Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds, where he just missed to Chad Brown’s highly-regarded Emerging Market. Pavlovian set a contested pace, beat off his early pursuers, and succumbed grudgingly by only a head.

Now that Pavlovian has found his optimal setup, employing a forward-running style in longer races, his personality is developing into an intensely competitive athlete.

What a finish! 👀

🌹 100 Kentucky Derby points goes to EMERGING MARKET, rises to the moment in the G2 https://t.co/EynbFb3eBd Louisiana Derby at @fairgroundsnola!

Chad Brown trains and Flavien Prat was aboard.

🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/w5P3wLeQgc

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) March 21, 2026