Chapter one · The horseman
The
Story
A life shaped by the barn, a father’s example, and the patience to let good horses become great ones.
The horseman
Keep them
coming back.
Speed can win a race. Care builds a career.
Craig Dollase has trained precocious Grade 1-winning two-year-olds, a champion sprinter, cross-country stakes horses and beloved veterans still winning at eight and nine. That range is the signature: see the horse in front of you, give it the time it needs, and never confuse urgency with progress.
He learned the rhythm of a racing stable from his father, Wally, then built a record unmistakably his own. It is grounded in horsemanship, adaptability and a willingness to take the right horse anywhere.
Churchill Downs · November 7, 1998
IA perfect
six furlongs.
Reraise broke first and never surrendered the lead, beating Grand Slam by two lengths in 1:09.07. The gelding finished his career with eight wins from nine starts and the Eclipse Award as America’s champion sprinter.
At 27 years old, Dollase became the youngest trainer in Breeders’ Cup history to win a race.
Wally Dollase had won the Distaff with Jewel Princess two years earlier, making the Dollases one of racing’s rare father-son Breeders’ Cup-winning teams.
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