By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LOUISVILLE - Wally Dollase is the sentimental story of this Kentucky Derby, having made a career comeback from an empty barn four years ago to the point he will saddle second choice Ten Most Wanted on Saturday in the world's biggest horse race. Yet today is the day for nerves: Son Craig is saddling Elloluv, the favorite in the Kentucky Oaks.

"I'll be more nervous (today) than watching my own horse," Dollase said.

The Californians could become the first father-son tandem to train winners of the Derby and Oaks in the same year.

"You think big, that you can get to a point like this, but it's so neat that it's happening," Craig said.

Win or lose, this is a week of rewarding recognition for a family of horsemen.

Craig used to assist his father and is now one of the most successful young trainers on the West Coast. Oldest daughter Michele is a former trainer; she married jockey Corey Nakatani and runs a horse farm. Another daughter, Aimee, assists Wally and also has a few horses she trains herself.

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"It's awful tough to make a living in this business," said Wally's wife, Cincy. "But they're all successful and enjoy what they do, which is what you hope for your kids."

The Dollase clan will be about 60 strong at Churchill Downs this weekend, including everyone but second daughter Carrie, a nurse, and Craig's wife, Nancy, who is expecting a child May 8.

"It's unbelievable how well things have gone," Wally said.

He means the manner in which he and Craig both found horses to develop well enough to create this reunion. What wasn't luck was how Dollase, 65, rebuilt his stable after the most devastating moment of his career.

Dollase had trained for two years in the 1960s and got back into it in 1984. He became a force in the 1990s in California, training two Eclipse Award winners, and in 1997 becoming the private trainer for The Thoroughbred Corp., owned by the late Saudi prince Ahmed bin Salman.

After just 16 months, Dollase was fired in March 1999.

Wally won't talk about it, but Craig said his father was devastated.

"Dad handled it with a lot of class, but obviously it was heartbreaking," he said.

Friends and former clients stuck by Dollase to help him rebuild. Ten Most Wanted has essentially the same ownership that Dollase used before disbanding his stable to train the prince's horses: James Chisholm, Michael Jarvis, J. Paul Reddam and some partners in Horizon Stable.

The family seems especially close-knit. When Wally and Cincy began having children in the late 1960s, they operated a breeding farm outside of Los Angeles. The kids were home-schooled until the sixth grade and helped with the family business.

"I couldn't ask for better help in this business than what my kids give me," Dollase said.

Lately, there have been joyous joint celebrations. On April 5, toasting champagne at Keeneland after Elloluv won the Grade I Ashland Stakes, Craig watched on TV as Ten Most Wanted won the Illinois Derby.

Wally and Craig have shared a barn this week. Scores of Dollases are running through it excitedly.

"This is a camaraderie I've had all my life with my children, thanks to our love for horses," Dollase said.

E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com